As part of efforts to guarantee quality education, the Ministry of Education plans to launch an independent higher authority to evaluate school education.
The proposal has been submitted for further studies and action, an informed source said.
The proposed authority will evaluate the performance and quality of educational establishments on the basis of a set of standards and ensure that schools are eligible for accreditation, local daily Al-Madinah reported.
The tasks of the authority include supervising private schools, harmonizing the operations of government and private schools and follow up on strategic school projects and educational development activities.
The authority will also spread a culture of maintaining quality standards in schools and encouraging people to support educational institutions and develop a habit of expecting excellent performance from schools in their towns. It will also encourage community participation in school improvement activities.
The source said the authority would be launched after getting its approval. Many other projects will also be launched soon as part of the Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques King Abdullah Project for General Educational Development, the source said.
The new education development projects include the establishment of four separate companies for school transportation, school buildings, syllabus and training, and educational and food supply services. The projects also include grading of teachers and the launch of a small schools strategy.
The king’s general education development is a SR9 billion project being implemented with the objective of creating a skilled, knowledge-based and highly intelligent work force for the future. A number of schools in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam have been selected for the implementation of this project. More than 400,000 teachers have received or are being trained for the program. This project also emphasizes extracurricular activities for the purpose of developing intellectual, creative and communicative skills.
The government gives a very high priority to educational sector. Approximately 24 percent of the country’s budget this year has been set apart for education and training.
The government’s stress on education and talent development has already resulted in Saudi high school students winning medals at the recently concluded European Mathematics Olympiad for girls at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Body to evaluate school education
