RIYADH – Minister of Education Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah announced here on Wednesday plans to carry out strategic programs to develop general education. Addressing the directors of education and their deputies, the minister said that as part of Tatweer all educational needs will be met and educational services will be upgraded. In Saudi Arabia, 29 percent of the population is under the age of 14 years. To support its young students, the government spends more than 25 percent of its annual budget on education. And, as part of its commitment to education, the government under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has launched an educational project called Tatweer, which is run by the Tatweer Education Holding Company. The King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Public Education Development Project (Tatweer) aims to improve educational outcomes in the Kingdom through greater use of technology. Tatweer has a standardized secure email system for six million students and their teachers. The $2.4 billion nationwide program aims to change the way the country's students are educated, encouraging students to analyze and problem solve rather than learn by rote. The project also aims to improve training for 500,000 teachers. Prince Faisal said the reports received from the education administrations are reassuring. “We hope during the coming few years to achieve the ministry's vision aimed at granting each school comprehensive independence,” he said. Prince Faisal said that the education evaluation authority, which was approved by the Council of Ministers, will carry out its functions soon. It will achieve a qualitative change in the education process. Secretary General of the Education Administrations Rashed Ghayyadh Al-Ghayyadh spoke on the main report for the beginning of the school year and the preparations made for it as well as the challenges faced and solutions presented. The report showed good preparations in schools during the first week of the new academic year. The minister also launched his initiative entitled “Fluency in Classical Arabic” in its first session held at Al-Azhar Hotel in Jeddah in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Khaled Al-Sabti and Director of Education in Jeddah Abdullah Ahmad Al-Thaqafi. – SG
