RIYADH: Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Minister of Education, Saturday inaugurated the first International Conference for Comprehensive Quality in General Education held under the patronage of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, here at the King Faisal Conference Hall at the Intercontinental Hotel. The event organized by the Ministry of Education will continue till Jan.12. On the occasion, Prince Faisal read out the King's speech in which he said in this age, knowledge is one of the most important sources of strength and it is the basic force toward achieving sustainable development for the society. Investment in human resources is the crucial factor to determine the features of this society and the future of its individuals. The King, in his speech, said he has stressed on many occasions that there is no way to achieve the desired future without advanced systems being run and led by enlightened, educated citizens who realize the stature of their country in the international arena and developments throughout the world. He said one of the most important goals is to upgrade and develop education and with that in mind, the Kingdom has made huge allocations for education because it is the crucial factor in development that the state is striving to achieve in all fields. The King said increased spending on education is an investment that will make major, long-term contributions to upgrading rates of development in society, reducing unemployment rates and increasing the balance between skills of graduates from the education system and the needs of the labor market. He said despite the success achieved during the past decades in disseminating education and giving the opportunity to all through a seat in school for every male and female Saudi student, it is necessary to face the challenges of the current and future stages and to establish the education project based on the concepts of quality, distinctiveness, a joint vision, the announced institutional values, the spirit of teamwork and boosting capabilities of male and female teachers to teach students to produce knowledge rather than consume it. The King said the guidance and teachings of Islam, according to which this country was founded, urge us to achieve quality and perfection in all our work. He said that he recently called on officials in the public sectors to adopt the concepts and criteria of quality and distinctiveness in all their plans, activities and work. The King said today he is calling for quality in general education in particular, which is everybody's responsibility, and called for social-partnership programs and partnerships with the private sector. The King also called for adopting national criteria for quality that will become an index showing the efficiency of the education system and expressed appreciation for the sincere national efforts exerted and being exerted in this field. “We are forging ahead, with Allah's help, in continuing the efforts in developing education and solving its problems. We know it is not an easy task, but the national duty makes it necessary to provide the best standard of education to our children and work in building their competitive capabilities to guarantee the continuation of development in this great country – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” King Abdullah said.
