Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A group of businessmen has called on the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to ease investment regulations in the education sector. It will contribute to the development of this vital sector in the Kingdom, they maintained. At present, the private sector is providing education to 669,000 students of both genders. Out of this about 590,000 are Saudis. The group of businessmen claim that a good investment environment would create 60,000 jobs for Saudi teachers. It is estimated that the total value of investment opportunities in this sector exceeds SR11 billion. The three education committees in charge of private and international education for boys and girls at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) also urged the ministry to reexamine the bylaws and regulations to provide licenses for private and international schools. They noted that these rules are impossible to meet. The committees addressed the challenges they face and discussed them with the director general of investment at Jeddah Municipality, Turki Al-Zughbi. During the meeting Muhi Al-Deen Hakami, assistant to the secretary general of the JCCI, called on Jeddah Municipality to give priority to school investors by providing them with long lasting investment plots of land owned by the municipality. Further, he demanded that the private and international schools should be given a share in areas which the municipality have specified as education areas in their new plans. Hakami also demanded speeding up providing licenses to private and international schools and ease the municipal regulations in this regard. Further the two parties discussed a municipal initiative that aims at providing plots of land to investors to build international schools. Among the most challenging regulations is to have the school on a main road; an almost difficult task for schools that have two sections — boys and girls. The municipality also demand special construction rules on the school building and its facilities.
