Turki Al-Dakheel

Okaz



Nations advance when they are committed to providing people with education, education and more education. South Korea, the miracle and pearl of the Great East, is a testament to the importance education plays in a country’s rise on the global stage.



In the Arabian Gulf, we are optimistic as education develops and international and local universities compete to attract students. Without a proper education, we cannot effectively counter any challenges that we may face. We certainly cannot counter the tide of extremism and its recent rebirth except with extraordinary education that we should spend generously on.



It is no secret that what is being carried out by Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal is extremely important in changing minds, injecting new concepts into school curricula and reforming the mentalities of our teachers.



Prince Khaled has never been far from the education field; he previously served as director general of the Presidency of Youth Welfare and has been dedicated to education, literature and poetry his entire life. He recently voiced concern that terrorists and extremist ideologies may infiltrate our schools.



Prince Khaled comes with full royal confidence to complete the King Abdullah Project for Developing Education for which SR80 billion has been allocated and he recently announced Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s personal approval for this important project.



The King has hopes that education in the Kingdom will be a distinctive model and a major pillar for investment and development, as it will inspire development in the country. This is why his government has allocated SR80 billion for instilling modern concepts in the minds of students, reforming teaching methods and changing teaching patterns from rote learning to critical thinking and understanding scientific theories and their applications.



Teachers’ standing and respect should mirror the European system, which pays teachers higher salaries than judges and gives them a great amount of respect in society. I end with a joke I heard: A European judge approached a politician and asked, “Why do you pay teachers more than us?” The politician replied, “They taught you everything you needed to know to become a judge!”