The Minister of Education Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed has said that there will be no postponement of school classes and that there is no cause for concern as long as precautionary measures and guidelines to combat the swine flu virus continue to be observed. Speaking to the press following the 5th consultative meeting of Gulf Education Ministers in Riyadh Tuesday, Prince Faisal said that some “observations” could nevertheless be made concerning some schools given that they number some 30,000 around the Kingdom, and called for consolidating and generalizing lessons learnt across the Arab world in the fight against the virus by promoting greater awareness through doctors and specialists, and by GCC states learning from improvements made across the world to school health measures. On improvements to education in the Kingdom, the minister said that educational institutions were on the “verge of a new transition through qualitative development to their programs, plans, human resources, and technical facilities” to raise the standard of education and training. “We meet today at a stage in the process for bringing about an educational renaissance and laying educational foundations based on studies and modern academic research, strengthened by practical application,” Prince Faisal said. “I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the path we are on and by which our leadership strives to improve the educational environment which is the basis for producing generations with the competencies required by the labor market to take part in the building of the nation and utilize knowledge from the scientific renaissance and technical revolution of this age,” he said. Prince Faisal praised King Abdullah for his concern for education programs and their role at the “heart of the balanced developmental equation” and for strengthening the educational and scientific programs serving “the country, and the Ummah through building and acquiring abilities from all sources to take part in the construction of this promising Arab renaissance.” The Prince also reserved praise for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology which he described as the “living embodiment of the scientific direction serving the Kingdom by bringing in the most accomplished students with scientists flocking to it from all over the world.” The Director General of the Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf member states, Ali Bin Abdul Khaliq Al-Qarni, said the Bureau was working to achieve the aims of the GCC leaders, and said their support had gone a long way in achieving goals during the continuing education process. The meeting heard from each member country a presentation on schemes reflecting the educational development taking place in that particular country, with the United Arab Emirates' academic certification efforts in both government and private schools, Bahrain's “vocational students” program, and Yemen's conditional cash transfer program to address truancy and the failure of children to register for school. The gathering also heard details of Kuwait's scheme to “instill educational values”, the Kingdom's moves to develop school curriculums, and Qatar's program for national professional standards for teachers and school heads.
