Hassan Fadlallah

Lebanese educator who established the first Arabic-language distance learning university

Hassan Fadlallah (1918-1972) was a visionary educator who founded the Arab Open University system in Lebanon. Born in Tripoli, he pioneered educational access for marginalized communities through his Radio Instruction Program (1953), which taught literacy to over 500,000 adults across the Middle East via shortwave radio.

Fadlallah's 1965 establishment of the Arab Distance Learning Institute created the first degree-granting program using correspondence courses and film lectures. His 1968 book Educating the Unreachable argued for technology's role in democratizing education, influencing UNESCO's 1970 Adult Literacy Initiative.

His work with the UNESCO Beirut Office helped develop the first Arabic-language televised educational content. The Fadlallah Educational Foundation continues his mission, operating 150 rural learning centers in 9 Arab countries. His methods inspired Nigeria's Broadcast Learning Network and Pakistan's Radio Education Project.

Though overshadowed by contemporaries like Nasser, Fadlallah's legacy endures in modern platforms like Coursera's Arabic content and edX's Middle East partnerships. His 1970 speech at Cairo University remains a foundational text in educational sociology.