Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal inaugurates the school named after businessman Abdul Rahman Faqeeh outside the holy city on Sunday. (AN photo by Salman Marzouki)

MAKKAH — Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday officially inaugurated the Middle East’s first electronic school. It is named after businessman Abdul Rahman Faqeeh and located along the Makkah-Jeddah Expressway. The governor lauded Faqeeh for establishing the state-of-the-art educational complex that comprises primary, intermediate and secondary schools with advanced facilities.

“I hope graduates of these schools will play a leading role in the Kingdom’s development and work for enhancing Saudi Arabia’s reputation in the comity of nations,” the prince said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Faqeeh said the main objective behind establishing the school was to develop and modernize the Kingdom’s education system and produce a new generation of Saudi students armed with knowledge, information and technology — the three essential factors for progress in the modern world.

The school complex is located outside Makkah’s residential districts in order to provide students with a suitable learning environment. All its academic and administrative activities are based on electronics and students of the school will not use any books. Spelling out some distinctive features of the school, Faqeeh said parents and guardians would be able to follow up studies of their children through the Internet.

The school charges an annual fee of SR7,000 for primary students, SR8,000 for intermediate students and SR9,000 for secondary students. Faqeeh announced 30 scholarships to outstanding students to mark Prince Khaled’s visit.

Nasser Al-Ahyawi, director of the schools, said 1,150 students have already enrolled in the three schools. “Next year we expect the number to reach 2,268,” he said.

The complex includes 10 workshops for automobile repair, electrical engineering, internal decoration, carpentry, blacksmithing and photography where students will be trained as part of their education.

The school campus is landscaped with gardens and trees. Water sprinklers have been set up to keep the atmosphere cool and invigorating. The complex also comprises sports and recreational facilities.