Saudi Gazette report An official report released by the Ministry of Education showed that over 300,000 male and female students at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels failed to pass the 2015 academic year. On average, the ministry spends SR18,000 a year on each student, which means nearly SR5.4 billion will need to be reallocated for students repeating the same grade. Al-Riyadh daily reports on the billions lost each year and what experts say should be done to reduce the number of failing students. The waste of educational resources is two-pronged. Firstly, 335,000 school students who will repeat their grades will cost the ministry nearly SR6.3 billion a year. Secondly, official statistics show that around 50 percent of students were given the Satisfactory grade while 25 percent received a Good grade. These are alarming results because students who graduate with low grades have a hard time getting into good colleges and when they do get accepted, they often struggle and this leads to more waste of educational resources. If they graduate from the college with low grades, they will not be able to find a good job and will contribute to the rise in unemployment. Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Amro, associate professor of curricula at Hail University, called for analyzing the reasons behind low-level performances among school students. He said the obvious causes should be ignored and deep-rooted ones should be analyzed, especially the ones related to the elements of the education provided and external influences. “This, of course, will take a long time, and long-term programs should be designed for this purpose. Weak students should be integrated into such programs and rehabilitated. The only solution to this problem is to dissect the causes and find effective mechanisms to deal with the problem,” he said. Specialized centers Economist Barjis Al-Barjis blamed the entire education system for failing to appoint highly-qualified staff who know how to deal with such problems. Another reason is the absence of centers that teach the decision-making process. “The real problem is sensitive and critical decisions are taken during meetings but they are not studied well beforehand to measure their effectiveness and impact. The deep-rooted causes need to be identified and addressed,” he said. Professor Abdullah Al-Fifi, a Shoura Council member and a faculty member at King Saud University, said there should be no price tag on education. “First of all, spending on education should not be limited and should be increased because this will reflect positively on the future of the country. It's true that educational resources are wasted, which is sad and unfortunate, but what is even more sad is the failure of these young minds who, regardless of their academic performance, have so much energy and potential to contribute to the country,” he said. Al-Fifi suggested that the passing bar for elementary grades should be raised and no student should be promoted to the next elementary grade unless he or she shows a high-level of performance. “Reform at the bottom-most level is the only way to stop the wastage of resources. Unfortunately, our universities send out thousands of students every year to the labor market but the majority of them are not equipped knowlede-wise. In other words, they are not ready to work hard and with perseverance to achieve their goals,” he added. Dr. Osama Abu Anaja, professor of computer science at King Abdulaziz University, said even though 6 percent of students failed this year at school, the number is still small but should be reduced over time. He called for reviewing and developing school curricula and training teachers on the use of modern technology.
