Education Minister Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has proven to be a talented and progressive leader. He is a graduate from one of the best western universities and he understands the value of education. Now that he is the minister of education, we have high hopes for the improvement of school system in our country, which has significantly suffered in terms of quality despite huge budgetary allocations.
This week, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal chaired the National Committee on Childhood. Perhaps the most significant agenda item at the meeting was the Protection Initiative in which teachers are trained to develop skills to detect physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children. Teachers also will be trained to detect parental neglect.
Child protection, in my view, starts with schools. Many pupils have suffered far too long as victims of abuse only to have their misery compounded by indifferent teachers and administrators at best and deliberately neglectful educators at worst. Saudi society has long followed the unwritten rule that problems in the household remain in the household and no outsider should ever venture to interfere.
Of course, we all know that is a destructive if not fatal position for any Saudi to take. In fact, it’s inexcusable and criminal for adults to turn a blind eye to children who are physically and sexually abused.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal recognizes this and has put the onus on teachers to report abuse of their students to law enforcement officials. This is standard operating procedure in virtually all school districts in the United States and an appropriate model for Saudi Arabia to follow.
Still, training teachers to report abuse is not enough to save the emotional well-being, if not the lives, of young people. There must be collaboration between the Education Ministry and the Ministry of Justice to handle complaints. Police must take reports seriously, conduct investigations and develop a system that may result in abusers being punished and victims receiving medical care, financial compensation and the counseling they require.
Educators and law enforcement officials should also not be so keen to return the child to the abuser or the same family because it may expose the victim to further abuse, especially if the abuser is addicted to drugs or has psychological problems. In addition, teachers’ workloads should be established to allow them more time to pay close attention to every child in the classroom and allow them to develop a relationship with their students to encourage trust and dialogue. If teachers are charged with these additional responsibilities, then their salaries should be reviewed to compensate them.
The cry among some elements is that we must not fall into the trap of thinking that following a western model somehow cheapens Saudi society and takes our identity. For those not paying attention, that is the same philosophy of Boko Haram and look how much they have done to further the "peaceful cause of Islam."
This paranoia of western education paints us as some kind of backward society afraid of our own shadow. There are reasons for Saudi Arabia’s healthy economy while other nations are falling apart. There are reasons why business entrepreneurs have done so well here. It’s because the thousands of men and women from two generations ago were educated in the West and brought that smart business knowledge home.
Then we stopped sending people to the West and changed the curriculum and testing standards in schools. So half of the adult population representing the last generation can’t spell or read a couple of sentences before setting a book or newspaper down. We have had a turnabout with the current generation as hundreds of thousands of young Saudis now study abroad. So there is hope for the future.
People like Prince Khaled Al-Faisal are eyeing the future and see an extension of the knowledge we are gaining by implementing policies and procedures that has made some nations a safer place for children. We are not there yet as a country. I’m thinking the high-minded Saudis in decision-making positions will ignore the paranoid fringe players and implement programs that support, nurture and educate children in a safe environment.
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