DAMMAM, 8 December 2004 — Young Saudi men and women yesterday surprised officials presiding over the fourth national dialogue on youth issues in the Eastern Province as they strongly criticized the country’s educational curricula and poor performance of teachers.
Girls were exceptionally vocal in their criticisms. Hayat Al-Ghamdi said many of the educational institutions in the country were running in substandard buildings. “Many of our teachers are not qualified for this noble profession,” added Faiza Al-Anazi.
Faiza insisted the appointment of teachers must be based on their skills rather than aggregate grades in order to improve educational standard. But there were strong voices supporting the present curricula and teachers.
More than 60 youths and 40 male and female researchers and academics from different parts of the Kingdom are taking part in the three-day event, which was opened by Saleh Al-Hosain, chairman of King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, at Dhahran International Hotel.
The forum will discuss four main topics: youth and education; youth and work; youth and patriotism; and youth and culture. In his opening speech, Al-Hosain stressed the importance of dialogue to solve pressing problems.
“The Qur’an and Sunnah are the basis for our dialogue,” Al-Hosain said and urged participants to discuss all issues objectively without generalizing things and issuing unfair judgments.
Fatma Abdul Aziz Al-Mesfar, a female participant, said the university curriculum in the Kingdom was more compressed compared to other countries.
“There is lack of educational tools and qualified hands,” she added.
Sara Al-Khathlan emphasized the importance of focusing on education during the national dialogue. She urged authorities to increase seats in universities to help more students attain higher education.
Dr. Nawal Al-Eid voiced her opposition to the closed-door debates. “My students are asking why they are not given a chance to follow the dialogue from their homes,” she said. She called for live telecast of the forum’s upcoming sessions.
In his intervention, Abdullah Fadaaq called upon participants to avoid bias and unfair attacks on others’ views during the discussions.
Dr. Fahd Al-Hammad said the educational curricula required revolutionary changes while Dr. Muhammad Al-Ali proposed that students should wear blue uniforms during practical classes. This would help to get accustomed to the atmosphere in work places, he said.
In his speech during the morning session, Yahya ibn Ali Azzan from Najran emphasized the need to cleanse curricula of flaws and dubious topics that put national unity in danger. “The first dialogue in Riyadh has called for accepting different views and schools of thought,” he pointed out.
The participants issued a statement condemning Monday’s terrorist attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah.
