JEDDAH, 8 September 2007 — More than five million Saudi students return to schools and colleges across the Kingdom today at the start of a new academic year after summer holidays. The ministries of education and higher education said they had completed preparations to receive the students and meet their needs.
Education Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Obaid congratulated students on the new academic year and urged them to work hard to enhance their skills and capabilities.
Obaid said students would enjoy the first fruits of the King Abdullah Project for Educational Development this academic year. The SR9 billion project, which will be carried out within the next six years, includes development of curriculum, training of teachers, improvement of educational atmosphere and extracurricular activities, he explained.
Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari said 21 government-run universities would accommodate about 71 percent secondary school graduates.
He said it was impossible to provide university education to all secondary school graduates. “No higher education system in the world provides seats to all secondary school graduates at universities or accept all applicants, especially for courses having big demand such as medicine, engineering and computer science,” the minister said.
Anqari pointed out that the number of secondary school graduates in the Kingdom was on the increase every year. As many as 262,567 boys and girls passed secondary school examinations this year with 173,812 receiving excellent and very good grades.
The General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) has increased the capacity of technical colleges in the country to 40,000 students. “This year we have received applications from nearly 77,000 students,” said Aaidh Al-Qahtani, GOTEVOT’s public relations and media manager.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Dubyan, director general of education in the Riyadh region, held a meeting with education and school directors in the region to discuss issues such as distribution of textbooks, school requirements including furniture, maintenance of school buildings and transportation of students.
Dubyan instructed officials not to collect any donations in cash or kind from parents for the maintenance or furnishing of schools or to purchase equipment, saying it constituted a clear violation of the law. He also emphasized the need for protecting students from deviant thoughts and ideologies.
The Riyadh Municipality has embarked on a program in coordination with schools to enhance awareness of students about cleanliness and the need for protecting public properties such as gardens and recreational centers.
