JEDDAH, 8 April 2004 — The government has endorsed a new education strategy that will steer the country’s education system toward meeting the requirements of the local job market.
According to the new strategy, the academic, technical and vocational sectors will be examined to reflect the country’s future economic, social and educational needs.
The aim is to produce graduates of universities and vocational training centers who can successfully compete in a job market dominated by foreigners.
The authorities are struggling to deal with unemployment problems among Saudis at a time when some six million foreign workers, mostly in the private sector, are working in the Kingdom.
Details of the strategy, drawn up by a ministerial committee entrusted with bringing the education system in line with job market requirements and laying down mechanisms to ensure implementation of the strategy were published by Okaz Arabic newspaper on Wednesday.
The strategy calls for expanding the base of technical education through the establishment of more technical colleges. In addition, the private sector will be encouraged to play a more visible and active role. The country can also benefit from the experience of others who are considered successful in the job market.
The recommendations by the ministerial committee called for ensuring more job opportunities for women and asked the Civil Service Council, Manpower Council and the Human Resource Development Fund to draw up the necessary plans and studies. The actual need for employing women in conformity with Islamic teachings as well as providing necessary training for them must be determined.
The new strategy calls for adopting new teaching alternatives in higher education, including the introduction of electronic education, distant learning, evening classes and part-time classes. Emphasis has also been placed on linking the recruitment of foreign labor with Saudization policies and thus ensuring that future recruitment be confined only to those specialties and skills the country lacks. A permanent committee will monitor and improve opportunities for jobseekers, especially those entering the job market for the first time.
Last year, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, approved SR3 billion for vocational and technical training programs for Saudi youth. The plan calls for opening 20 new technical colleges for 60,000 students in addition to 39 other institutes for 40,000 students. An additional SR270 million was allocated to improve military technical training programs in which 10,000 young Saudis enroll each year.
In future, technical colleges will be required to offer courses only in subjects for which there is a demand in the job market. The General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) has been asked to increase the intake of the technical colleges and vocational training institutes and to open more centers in various parts of the Kingdom.
The strategy calls for drawing up a long-term plan for secondary education. This plan will cover the next 25 years and identify needs and the means of financing them. It also includes continuous review and evaluation of the subjects being studied in universities and the creation of new subjects to avoid duplication and ensure that graduates are prepared to fulfill market requirements.
It also called for a comprehensive study on the causes of examination failure and student dropouts and recommendations for solutions. More emphasis is being placed on student guidance programs to educate and advise students on job market requirements.
A recent study indicates that by 2010 the Kingdom will have 1.8 million students seeking admission to government universities that will be able to accommodate only 60 percent of that number. The remaining 40 percent will have no chance of university admission.
Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper quoted the study as saying that some 120,000 young women are on the Ministry of Civil Service waiting lists of Saudis looking for jobs. The study suggested that these graduates be trained to take up jobs in various areas in conformity with religious teachings.
