Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad Al-Saud, Minister of Education, Wednesday expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the Education Ministry, which he said does not match its financial and intellectual strength. Prince Faisal, who made the comment during a visit to the Jeddah Club for Scientific Creativity, said innovation needs freedom and guidance. “I hope our children will have a chance for creative innovation.” He stressed that the summer extracurricular activities, a key part of King Abdullah's Project for the Development of Education, are productive and important. “What we see makes a person feel happy,” he said. “With Allah's blessing, we hope that we will see more centers and clubs to serve the innovators and foster constructive creativity.” Initiatives and partnerships are being established between the Ministry of Education and the private sector to set up scientific centers to support students whose efforts will contribute to the country's progress, he said. Prince Faisal praised the initiative made by the Education Administration in Jeddah and the private sector that led to the creation of the center, which has helped student earn top positions at international festivals. He honored students who have been recognized in international and regional competitions in the areas of innovation and scientific competitions. “There is an ongoing process to improve the school based on advancements in the fields of study,” Prince Faisal said in response to a question by Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “The schools' syllabi are making significant progress from one year to another,” he said. “We started with the science and mathematics syllabi and we have introduced great changes in these two subjects to reflect international developments in those fields. We are making changes to ensure that we effectively contribute to the King's program of developing general and higher education.” Prince Faisal dismissed accusations that summer clubs have terrorist associations. “The summer centers never produce terrorists or support the terrorists' deviant thoughts that destroy everything and kill people in cold blood,” he said.
