RIYADH: The Riyadh education department plans to set up a student council so that learners can be more involved in decisions about their education and develop management and organizational skills needed by the country.

This is according to Muhammad Al-Murshed, director general of the department, who made the remarks at a meeting attended by Hamed Al-Shunaiber, assistant director for school affairs, and other officials, according to a report in a local publication recently.

Al-Murshed said there is a great deal of expectations placed on male and female students to take up the responsibility of developing the nation, which means they should have the requisite skills.

One way to achieve this is by setting up a student council, which would consist of 28 male and 28 female students in Riyadh, who would be required to discuss pressing issues facing learners, he said.

They would have the responsibility of taking up grievances and other issues with the administration. “The objectives of this project are to promote and strengthen national values, to entrench a culture of dialogue among students, to support their participation in the decision-making process, and develop their leadership skills,” he said.

He said the council would be able to communicate directly with his office. Membership requirements include that they should be citizens, achieving at least 95 percent academically, and have received regional or international awards.

Al-Murshed and Al-Shunaiber granted 120 students Excellence Awards for their distinguished behavior. The awards aim to instill moral and patriotic values in students.

On a related matter, the department launched Sunday a program to reduce arguments and fights among students outside school grounds.