RIYADH, 22 August 2005 — Greater emphasis on science subjects and job-oriented education will be the main thrust of the revised syllabus to be introduced in the Kingdom’s secondary schools next month.
The Ministry of Education will also provide a new curriculum for Islamic education and Arabic language in middle schools, according to Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Ruwais, assistant deputy minister of education for curriculum development in the Ministry of Education.
In the secondary school science stream, the subjects will include chemistry and biology. Dr. Al-Ruwais said that the new curriculum had already been introduced on an experimental basis in some schools in Riyadh and Jeddah. “Educational content is a continuous process subject to the influence of the environment and other factors,” he observed.
In the middle school curriculum, the revised curriculum is still being reviewed but some Islamic subjects will be withdrawn to make it easier for the students.
When asked how much time had been allocated for Arabic and Islamic studies, the minister said in high schools there would be five Islamic studies subjects and three in Arabic language. At the intermediate level, there are four Islamic and two Arabic subjects. In secondary schools, students are required to learn both Islamic and scientific subjects before choosing either the religious or science stream. The decrease in Islamic content will be matched by a corresponding increase in the teaching of science and math subjects.
Mubarak Al-Dossary, an English teacher in a Saudi intermediate school, agreed with the minister and said that changes in the secondary school syllabus were intended to prepare the students for post-secondary education.
He pointed out, “The educational system will be more job-oriented, with emphasis on computer science and other courses that are in demand in the job market.”
One of the problems preventing English teaching in lower secondary schools is the lack of trained teachers.
“I don’t see English being taught to fourth graders even two or three years from now,” Mubarak said.
He added that the acute shortage of English teachers had created a situation in which teachers are required to teach in more than one school without any increase in pay. “I have to take two classes a week in an elementary school.”
According to him, the ministry requires teachers to teach 24 hours per week. “If, for example, I teach 20 hours in secondary school, then I have to take English classes for four more hours in an elementary school.”
A proposal to recruit English teachers from India was dropped in favor of developing a cadre of Saudi teachers.
