ABHA, 18 September 2006 — Participants at a preparatory meeting for the sixth national dialogue forum, which is scheduled to take place in the northern city of Al-Jouf in December, have discussed methods of removing obstacles in the development of higher education in the Kingdom.
The meeting was held in Abha under the aegis of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue on Wednesday. More than 65 educational experts including men and women representing various regions participated in the meeting.
The theme of the sixth dialogue forum is "Education: Facts and Ways of Development."
The educationists recommended that the infrastructure of university education be developed to suit the development of the skills of students at higher levels. It was recommended that programs should be outlined to improve teaching and that students be supplied with advanced equipment.
The participants also recommended that the curriculum should be streamlined to suit the needs of modern society and ensure that there is a healthy balance between theory and application; attention should be paid to implement continuous training projects and emphasis should be placed on the quality of graduates and their capability to meet the demands of the region's job markets. Participants also stressed the significance of giving universities and other institutes of higher education the financial and administrative authority to implement their academic and research programs.
The recommendations also included developing an academic accreditation system based on common standards of education and the setting up of independent university evaluation centers. Some participants pointed out the need for trimming down unreasonably voluminous curriculum.
Shaikha Al-Boraiki, rector at the College of Education in Namas, called for opening women's agricultural engineering colleges. Hanan Asiri, supervisor of education, urged the educationists to come up with a syllabus that can be applicable in practical life.
The Abha forum was the second such meeting in the Southern region ahead of the dialogue forum in December. The first meeting took place in Najran last Saturday. More preparatory meetings will be held in Jizan and Baha in the coming days.
