JEDDAH, 21 March 2007 — Revision of school curricala to keep abreast of the developments is essential in boosting the role of women in nation building, participants in the Khadija bint Khuwailid Forum here said in concert yesterday.

In her speech, Samra Al-Quwaiz, lecturer at the College of Administrative Sciences-Accounting Department at the King Saud University, said that “it is time to start moving and change the curriculum,” adding that “it is a shame that what I am teaching now is the same as what I was taught years ago.”

She pointed out that around four million women in the Kingdom do not want to work. “This is a waste of energy, unfortunately,” she said, considering that the Kingdom spends around SR90 billion on the education of both sexes. The outcome from the women’s side is not enough to be considered profitable.”

Fawzia Al-Baker, associate professor at King Saud University’s College of Education, noted that the Kingdom’s education system forces students to memorize instead of digesting information. “I was thinking where to send my daughter. She was lucky to enter a private school. What about other children of the same age who can’t afford to be enrolled in private schools. Imagine what happens to them in governmental schools,” she asked.

She further observed that the children today think differently. They are exposed to computer and videogames. “Children today can do more than one activity at a time. They can surf the Internet, listen to music and chat at the same time,” she said. And in spite of technology and the Internet in schools, Al-Baker said, the Saudi education system continues to be the same. “Women are paying the price of a society that does not give her the same rights that her brother gets, neither on social and cultural standards nor on a governmental level,” she asserted.

“The Ministry of Education does not have the right to choose in which schools we want our children, because good education is not provided in all schools,” Al-Baker said. A member of the students group in the forum pointed out that certain careers require prospective employees to have experience of a number of years. Graduates find such conditions difficult to meet.

Hala Ajeeb, a business student at King Abdul Aziz University, who runs a business herself, said that what is taught at university is different from what she experiences at work.

“The curricula are old and do not present practical life. That’s why there are more girls truanting than attending lectures because they know they won’t benefit by attending lectures,” she said.

Princess Adelah bint Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz told Arab News that “this is a good sign that we are moving forward and we are already implementing new plans in the development of education as Al-Baker recommended. We are giving these students opportunities to explore what other countries abroad are doing and are offering them a broader space to learn things that cannot be learned in a classroom.”

She added that it was good that schools were encouraging students to speak their minds with confidence and participate in such events.