Today I looked at an article on "The choice is made from no choice’: What Motivates Libyan EFL Teachers to Work in Times of Change" by Hameda Suwaed, Faculty of Arts in Sabrata (Libya).

At first I thought - as the title reads - the article addressed school teachers, and I was ready to argue the 'claim' that teachers have to design and prepare their own material.

In fact, the conditions of teachers or lecturers in Libyan HE leaves a lot to be desired; lack of incentives, services, resources of all kinds and, recently, students attitudes. Libyan students, after the February, revolution appear to be abusing the notion of 'freedom'; they expect to cheat like they did at school, pass exams and gain qualifications at whatever cost, even if it means harassing or bullying a lecturer. It seems to me that in Libya the tables have been turned; it is students not teachers who have power. Eventually, students' collective coercive power is becoming a cause of de-motivation for college teachers than ever before. Last semester I was coerced into pulling out of an MA course because the students refrained from attending, for did not want a strict teacher like myself; they preferred a lenient one who glosses over their mistakes and eventually grants them pass marks.

I invite Libyan lecturers, or others in similar circumstances, to air their views and tell their stories. Please respond and/or invite others to do so. Thank you.