JEDDAH, 1 September 2007 — Education Minister Abdullah Bin-Obaid yesterday approved Dar Al-Fikr Schools’ American High School Diploma Program, an internationally accredited course to be launched at the school in the new academic year beginning next week, according to Abdul Qader Al-Bakri, director general of the Dar Al-Fikr Schools.
The diploma program is one of the three universally recognized secondary-level programs in English. “Dar Al-Fikr has already started registering boys and girls for the program, which suits the requirements of the Saudi students without jeopardizing the Saudi values and Islamic principles,” Al-Bakri said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
He explained that the program includes the curriculum specifications laid down by the Ministry of Education. Accordingly the students will have to study Arabic language, Islamic studies, geography and history of the Kingdom. “The diploma could be considered the closest to the Kingdom’s educational programs as it is more flexible than most other programs. Moreover, students can easily switch over to any other educational program,” Al-Bakri said.
He also explained that the diploma, which is on a par with the Kingdom’s General Secondary diploma, is listed in the qualifications for securing a seat in Saudi universities. Besides the US universities, the American universities in Cairo, Beirut, Sharjah and Dubai admit holders of this diploma to their courses.
