RIYADH — Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh said that the ministry is currently working to include critical thinking and philosophy in the school curriculum. "The move aims to foster the values of freedom of thought and tolerance, as well as to combat intellectual extremism among male and female students. This would also enable them to practice and acquire critical and philosophical thinking skills to meet different life situations," he said. The minister made the remarks on Monday while attending the third session of the Kingdom's dialogues titled "We discourse for our tolerance", which was organized by King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance. "The Ministry of Education seeks to consolidate the values of tolerance and human understanding among students as it is a fundamental pillar for promoting tolerance in society, and this will be done through multiple practices targeting the personality of the boy and girl students as well as their thinking," he said during the virtual session. Al-Sheikh said the ministry has paid great attention to developing curricula in a way linking it to national values and cultural commonalities in promoting dialogue and tolerance, and these included reviewing and evaluating curricula, and ensuring the safety of children from negative thoughts. "The ministry contributes to developing effective dialogue methods for teachers in public education schools, and faculty members in universities alike, through specialized programs and events in addition to supporting the efforts of the Intellectual Awareness Center to monitor negative practices in educational circles," he said. Al-Sheikh said the Ministry of Education and universities are working on joint programs to spread the culture of dialogue and tolerance in society and to draw lessons and methods to develop these practices. "We also monitor global activities on the International Day for Tolerance to benefit from them in addition to the exchange of student delegations with the world," he said. The minister also drew attention to the outcome of the "Riyadh Declaration" adopted by the Conference on Citizenship, Education and Common Human Values, organized by the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, and the recommendations it contained that reinforce the values of tolerance in the lives of societies and peoples.
