Saleh Fareed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Illiteracy in Saudi Arabia dropped by 4 percent among men and 11 percent among women during the last year, according to an education official. Speaking at the official opening of the Second Meeting for Adult Education, Dr. Yousef Al-Arif, director of adult education in Jeddah, said: “Saudi Arabia is doing its best to combat illiteracy.” The official highlighted the importance of continuing education and praised the Ministry of Education's consistent efforts in providing the best methods to fight illiteracy and provide adult education. He said the Kingdom succeeded in drastically cutting illiteracy rate because of the encouragement received from the government. The meeting, carrying the theme, “Adult education…quality and investment”, was inaugurated Sunday by Abdullah Al-Thagafi, director of education in Makkah region, as part of Arab Literacy Education celebrations. Norah Al-Sheikh, a social consultant and former director of adult education for women in Makkah region, noted that according to new figures released by the Ministry of Education, the Kingdom has made massive strides in its bid to eradicate illiteracy. She said: “The rate of illiteracy has fallen and efforts to combat one of the country's biggest problems began in 1954, with the introduction of special education programs for adults.” She said the government of Saudi Arabia introduced further educational reforms in 1972 with the Adult Education and Illiteracy Eradication Regulation. This outlined the general policy for education in the Kingdom as well as obligations from both the state and private sector in terms of reducing illiteracy. She said: “The Kingdom established a large number of adult education centers in order to make education available to everyone and to eliminate illiteracy. “For people living in isolated rural areas, the government conducts intensive three-month adult education courses during the summer.” She announced that the Kingdom's literacy rate is over 90 percent for men, and just over 70 percent for women. The literacy rate for children under 15 is 89.2 percent for boys and 93.2 percent for girls.
