AIP stresses importance of local education

The Association of Indian Professionals (AIP) in Jeddah hosted an educationist from the United Kingdom here to highlight the importance of education in Saudi Arabia. The AIP organized an interactive session with Tony Swaitson at a local restaurant on Tuesday.
AIP is a non-profit and non-political association that focuses on development activities in various sectors including education, information technology, medicine and engineering.
AIP’s vision is to support Indian professionals in India and globally. The event was chaired by Faiz Al-Abideen, chief patron of AIP. Attendees included Syed Ali Mahmoud, patron of AIP; Aijaz Ahmed Khan, chairman of AIP; Mohammed Al-Qureshi, founder of AIP; and Muzammil Riyaz, CEO of AIP. Swaitson gave a lecture on the importance of education for the development of a country.
“I mostly work with head teachers at schools on leadership training. I worked today on vision and mission. I went to two schools over here and was very impressed with how much they are doing," he said. "Their dedication and passion working with young people was amazing. At the same time, there was a modesty in that they came to learn from me. There was a mutual understanding. I was really honored by this,” he said.
Mahmoud spoke about Saudi National Day and outlined how Saudi Arabia had developed from only three universities in 1967 to currently 34 universities, 37 colleges and several institutes and schools across the country. He said the Saudi government was “taking a personal interest in the education and development of the country.” He said millions of expatriates were also working hard to develop the country on all levels.
He said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has supported education initiatives and set up a scholarship program for Saudis to study at top foreign universities.
Al-Abideen praised AIP for its work and said that Muslims have a duty to spread knowledge.