The Education Ministry is encouraging investments in the private and foreign education sector to provide quality schooling for Saudi children. Dr. Haya Bint Abdul Aziz Al-Awad, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education for educational affairs, made the remarks during the first meeting of foreign school owners in the Kingdom. She said the ministry is working with other ministries and agencies to remove all obstacles facing male and female investors in the field. “The interest shown by Saudi parents to enroll their children in foreign schools reflects their desire to give quality education to their children and improve their foreign language skills from an early stage. The percentage of Saudi students in some of these foreign schools in the Kingdom has now reached more than 90 percent,” Dr. Al-Awad said. Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, Director of Education in Jeddah, also commended the great interest shown by Saudi parents in enrolling their children in foreign schools. He said this inevitably creates a strong relationship between the ministry and investors. “All participants hope that the meeting will come up with recommendations that will help in further developing foreign education and removing the obstacles facing it.” Brig. Abdullah Jadawi, Director of Civil Defense in Jeddah, presented a paper on the safety and security conditions required for schools and the mechanism of issuing safety licenses. The paper comes in the wake of a number of school fires in the Kingdom. Dr. Nasser Al-Melhem, Director General of the Kingdom's Schools, told the audience about the accreditation of foreign schools and the conditions that must be met in order to open a school in the Kingdom.
