RIYADH: We want a minister to emerge from among you, not a deputy minister,” Noura Al-Fayez, Deputy Minister of Education, said Wednesday. Addressing 54 girl students participating in the Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Olympiad, Al-Fayez asked them not to be frustrated if they cannot participate in competitions outside the Kingdom. “Whoever cannot participate internationally should try several times, for failure is the road to facing the challenge and reaching the desired success,” she said. “Face all the challenges bravely,” she exhorted the girl students. Al-Fayez visited the female students participating in the preparatory program for the Olympiad, started this year for the first time with the participation of the Ministry of Education and the King Abdul Aziz and His Men Foundation for Giftedness. The girl students are undergoing an intensive two-week training program before the nomination of six male and female students to compete in Argentina, Thailand and Turkey. Al-Fayez, who met the girl students in Al-Izdihar Hotel here, expressed her happiness about the girls' determination to succeed and stand out. She also got acquainted with the students and sought their opinion on the program and whether they had any complaints or suggestions. The girls, who confirmed that the training program is quite enjoyable, expressed concern about their two-week absences from school and asked Al-Fayez if this would affect their cumulative grades. Al-Fayez said their presence in the program is a distinction for them. Dr. Jawharah Al-Mutrik, Director of the Female Students' Activities, said female students participating in the mathematics program are nominees from last year and this is the first time girls are participating in physics and chemistry. She said the girl and boy students are being trained on ways to be creative and innovative using new methods to find solutions and search for answers.
