Today’s race is to acquire skill-based knowledge: Issa

Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — More than five million boy and girl students start their schools today (Sunday) after a long summer vacation.

“We are starting a new academic year with great hope, high spirit and aspiration,” said Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa.

The best of efforts have been put in place so that schools and universities are in the best condition to receive students, he said.

In a message to students on the eve of the new school year, the minister said, “The race today is that of science, knowledge and skills. Competition at the global level is very high in the fields of technology and skill development. This requires an intensive effort to raise the standard of education and training.”

Addressing the personnel involved in the education sector, Issa said we must strategize to meet the challenges in the light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which has a goal to raise competence and efficiency.

The ministry said it will go ahead with the project to digitalize textbooks instead of printing millions of copies every year at a cost of billions of riyals.

Issa last year said the ministry will stop printing textbooks. All textbooks will be digitalized in two to three years, he said.

However, Hamad Al-Asheikh, former deputy education minister, considers it illogical to stop printing textbooks.

“This will be a grave mistake,” he was quoted as saying by a section of the Arabic press.

He recalled that such an experiment in Los Angeles had failed after the state spent more than $1.5 billion on the digitalization of textbooks.

The Department of Education in Makkah said it has prepared about 188 smart classes for about 6,580 male and female students and added that it has also prepared more than 430 clinics in schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

Director of the department Mohammed Al-Harithy said that more than four million textbooks were distributed among more than 400,000 students in 1,585 schools in the holy city.

Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, director of the Department of Education in Jeddah, said that more than 700,000 students will be going to schools in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khilais.

He said that about 46 supervisors from the ministry will start visiting schools on Tuesday to make sure that they are ready for the new academic year.

In the eastern city of Al-Ahsa, more than 219,000 boy and girl students will be going to about 1,100 schools which have about 14,482 male and female teachers and 1,215 supervisors.

Director of the Department of Education in Tabuk Ibrahim Al-Omari said that more than 200,000 students will be attending 1,200 schools in the city.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has distributed more than 1,300 school bags to students of poor families who are being supported by the National Committee to take care of prisoners (Tarahum).

The Tatweer (development) Company of the Education Ministry has fixed the price of the public transport for students at SR200 each.

It said female teachers who will be transported to remote areas will have to pay SR500 to be registered in its public transport system.

The company said last year that about 12,949 male and 24,302 female students had benefited from its transport services.