Almost 30,000 teachers and administrators will benefit from a new professional development program for school leaders, said Education Minister Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who called on staff to take the new academic year seriously from the moment schools reopen on Sept. 1.

Prince Khalid made the statement to a local newspaper on Tuesday.

Education is a national responsibility aimed at building generations and ensuring sound upbringing and learning, said the minister.

“We are looking forward to seeing officials, administrators and teachers upholding their responsibilities head-on and exhibiting proficiency,” he said.

The professional development program will be taught through a strategic software for educational development introduced by the Educational Development Corp.

Also present in the meeting were Mohammed Zughaibi, president of educational services at the corporation, and Abdul Latif Harkan, executive vice-president of professional development.

Prince Khalid reiterated the importance and special priority to be given to this project, especially timely implementation, to ensure that school managements become highly trained in accordance with international standards.

The aim is enable school leaders to deal with global and local variables, he said. Program registrants must acquire a certificate in practitioner school leadership and another certificate in professional school leadership in order to pass. The program’s first phase will include direct training on the basics of leadership. This training program will also include an intensive training program in collaboration with the National Institute of Education in Singapore to acquire specific skills for selected groups.