JEDDAH: The Kingdom provides comprehensive care to deprived children and those subject to risks by endorsing all international protocols and drafting laws to ensure their protection, Noura Abdullah Al-Fayez, Deputy Minister of Education for Girls' Affairs, said Thursday while addressing the 4th Arab Conference for Child Rights, which opened in Marrakech. She pointed out that five years ago, the Kingdom introduced the National Family Safety Program, which has an objective of drafting rules and policies that protect families and children from family violence. Citing examples for the care the Kingdom gives for children, she said only last year, more than 300 kindergartens were set up in villages and rural complexes and female teachers in several private schools were allowed to teach boys in the primary stage. She said there are challenges to increase the rate of enrollment in the early-educational stages and improve the quality of education in these stages. Another challenge is breaking the chain of poverty, which diminishes the development of children in poor families, said Al-Fayez, and there is a need to ensure laws and legislation are dedicated to the protection of children. Relating the Kingdom's efforts in this regard, she referred to the Royal Order that made kindergarten an independent stage and stressed the importance of its expansion. There's more work to be done, she said. Children should be protected from pollution hazards, there is a need to improve cultural content created for children and children must have opportunities for entertainment, cultural activities and social participation. Al-Fayez also touched on the care given by the Kingdom to stages of early childhood and said the attention is based on political will and a national desire to widen the concept of early childhood and spread pre-school education. She also referred to the Kingdom's Basic Governance System, which stresses that family is the nucleus of the society and as such, its members should be brought up in accordance with the principles of Islam. Reviewing the national efforts made in the field, she referred to the creation of the National Committee for Childhood, which was tasked with working out the National Strategy for Childhood 2005-15, and creation of the National Commission for Human Rights which is directly linked to the King. She said laws also include provisions that preserve women's rights at work, especially during pregnancy and birth. Al-Fayez also noted that the Credit Fund makes interest-free loans to women investors so they can carry out their small-scale projects to earn their living and generate income. She also referred to the efforts made by the Kingdom to reduce mortality among children, which included an awareness campaign encouraging breast
