Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal made several unannounced visits to schools in Riyadh on Wednesday to check on the state of classrooms and the performance of teachers.
The tour, the first since the prince became minister, included extensive discussions with school heads. Accompanied by Khaled Al-Sabti, deputy minister of education, the ministry’s acting director in Riyadh and various education department officials, the prince listened to the views of educators and encouraged students to work hard.
Prince Khaled had earlier asked officials to change his scheduled route so that he could make the unannounced visits to the Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah primary school that was in a rented building.
He checked the school's emergency exits, cleanliness and its administrative section.
He then went to some classrooms to watch teachers deliver their lessons and assess the reading skills of pupils in lower grades.
He visited Aqil ibn Abi Talib School, Al-Osood bin Wahb School, and Yarmouk Secondary School.
Prince Khaled said he found "a great deal of success" at the schools and hoped that other schools were also in such a good state.
He also had discussions with a visiting delegation of students from the Al-Baha area on the importance of education, and urged them to work hard because they were the future of the nation.
The delegation was accompanied by Mohammed bin Ghurmallah Lafi, director of education in Al-Aqeeq province. Members of the group congratulated him on his appointment, and gave him a mosaic of himself made out of 3,500 pieces.
Prince Khaled finds schools in good state
