DAMMAM, 26 January 2007 — A lack of awareness causes many families to favor leaving their children at home in the care of maids and nannies over sending them to kindergarten. According to statistics, the number of Saudi children in kindergarten is not more than 8 percent. Though the Kingdom is witnessing development in a variety of sectors, most Saudis are still unaware of the importance of sending their children to kindergarten.
Ignorance causes parents to leave their children locked at home and therefore not exposed to the different experiences and activities offered them in kindergarten classes. Media and educational sources stress the importance of this stage in children’s lives. Specialists consider kindergarten a time in which children are exposed to social life, and get chances to enjoy many activities that will allow teachers and parents to discover talents in them. In addition to the problem of parents being unaware of the importance and advantages of kindergarten, the Ministry of Education has failed to open enough of them around the Kingdom.
Nahla Al-Yunous, an educational researcher, told Al-Watan that it was time to realize the importance of kindergarten education and develop and improve the sector. “In the last two years, the media and the Ministry of Education have helped a great deal by stressing the importance of kindergarten education. Only 8 percent of Saudi children go to kindergarten, while in other Arab countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Qatar the percentage is as high as 48 percent. Eight percent is not satisfactory especially if we compare that to our rapidly increasing birth rate.”
Al-Yunous explained that the only way to develop the sector was by increasing the number of kindergartens and by encouraging the private sector to invest in the sector. “If we did this, we could also find jobs for more than 6,000 graduates who are jobless,” she said.
Al-Yunous also suggested separating kindergarten education from elementary education.
Hissa Al-Rais, the manager of the educational supervision department at the General Department of Kindergartens in Riyadh, blames parents for the shortcomings. “Because of a lack of awareness and ignorance, they leave their children with maids instead of sending them to kindergarten. If the number of the children in kindergarten increased, then both the public and the private sector would react and more kindergartens would be built.”
According to Al-Rais, there are 1,449 kindergartens in the Kingdom with a total of 86,886 students and 10,150 employees.
Amal Asiri, a kindergarten teacher, stressed the importance of more training courses for kindergarten teachers. “There is an urgent need to increase the number of kindergartens so that every district had at least one; there is also a need to increase the number of pre-primary teachers,” she added.
Al-Jawhara Al-Ajaji, the secretary-general of pre-primary education at the Ministry of Education, said that the ministry is setting its goals high. She explained, “We need to increase the number of students in kindergarten by at least a factor of 5. The General Department of Kindergarten Education has linked the lack of kindergartens in the country to many factors. First, the lack of statistics that could hinder investors; secondly, the lack of financial and technical support; thirdly, the difficulty of getting licenses for building new kindergartens, and finally, the lack of awareness among families.”
Al-Ajaji stressed the need for private investors to enter the sector. She also said that the government should make it easier to establish kindergartens in order to increase their number.
Awatif Murad, an educational specialist and an investor in the sector, said, “More than 90 percent of Saudi children are not exposed to kindergarten education. This means that those children do not receive the mental and behavioral preparation that they need. In Jeddah alone, there is a need to provide 93,00 classes for these children. This also means that there is a need for more than 23,000 employees.”
Murad added that the problem would be solved only if the private sector participated by building more kindergartens. In addition, she also agreed that there is a need to increase awareness among Saudis. She urged universities and colleges to establish new departments specializing in kindergarten education. This would increase the number of qualified graduates who could work in the sector.
Muna Maghrabi, who graduated four years ago from the University of Taif, said that she feels sorry that she has not yet found a job. What annoys her is that she sees some women who turn their homes into something resembling a kindergarten, without being licensed and monitored by educational authorities.
“If the ministry is not willing to build more kindergartens, it should at least allow the private sector to do the job. Families are looking for kindergartens and graduates are looking for jobs; only the private sector can solve the problem,” she said.
