RIYADH, 8 August — The Ministry of Education is running 13 Saudi schools abroad in as many countries, with a total enrollment of 5,217 students drawn from 35 nationalities.
Ibrahim A. Al-Qusair, director general of Saudi overseas schools in the Ministry of Education, said the schools include the Islamic Saudi Academy in Washington and the King Fahd Academies in Britain and Germany. They were set up by the Saudi government for the convenience of Saudi and other Muslim children interested in pursuing general education with an Islamic content.
These schools are running 315 classes overall, of which 162 were in the elementary, 82 intermediate and 71 secondary grades. A total of 908 personnel — teachers, administrators and workers — were employed in these institutions.
A breakdown of students’ nationalities released by the ministry shows that Saudis, totaling 1,683 students, constituted a majority of those enrolled, followed by 896 students from Djibouti, 257 from Egypt, 251 from Syria, 238 from Jordan and 135 from Palestine.
Regarding non-Muslim countries, there were 40 students from Spain, 13 from Austria and 19 others from the US, Britain, Russia, France and Germany. They were a mixture of regular students and those enrolled in the distance learning program.
The director-general said there were regular inspections of the schools to ensure that they were following the Saudi syllabus and were not subjected to anti-Islamic influences.
Al-Qusair said the ministry established the general directorate of Saudi schools abroad in 1996 to provide education to Saudi, Arab and Muslim students at all levels of general education. They also monitored their progress in these schools to ensure that the students carried out their assignments.
An important feature of the textbooks is the addition of high quality photographs to enhance their educational value. The ministry has also set up learning resource centers to upgrade teaching strategies and learning skills, and make use of communication technology and its educational applications.
