IT'S commendable that government and private organizations in large cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah are collaborating to hold summer camps for students during the long summer holidays.This is absolutely necessary, not only to keep the young ones from nagging their parents all the time, but to ensure they can develop their skills and talents. It also keeps them from reckless and criminal behavior. In Riyadh, the Prince Salman Science Oasis (PSSO), the pioneer of TREP$ Marketplace, a popular after-school program, recently announced summer camps for children with various projects starting from today. PSSO is a non-profit organization that works to promote creative activities including training programs for schoolchildren eight to 14 years old. The classes cover topics such as industrial chemistry, calligraphy, art and painting, robotics and TREP$ Marketplace, which will be held for one month at the PSSO facility in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter. The PSSO targets youths of all nationalities and trains them to be creative in life. Headed by Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, who is also the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), PSSO has been instrumental in promoting a culture of science and innovation and stimulating creative work among the nation's “budding scientists”. In Jeddah, the Ministry of Education has allocated SR43 million for 700 extracurricular programs at student summer clubs to promote moderation and combat extremism. There are also programs to keep students busy with useful hobbies and trades.The programs are also meant to protect students from delinquency and reckless behavior during their long summer vacation. The clubs operate for four to six weeks and started receiving students from June 24. There are 490 clubs throughout the region's districts, set up according to population density. A total of 20 ministry officials have been assigned to the students' summer and Ramadan trips to Makkah and Madina. There are also teachers who hold Holy Qur'an memorization classes at 24 schools opened specifically for this purpose. Apart from this, it is also up to parents to ensure their youngsters keep busy. Sports is especially useful during this time, instead of allowing them to spend long hours in front of the television playing violent video games. __
