RIYADH: The Cabinet has approved starting teaching of English language from Grade 4 in boys and girls primary government schools effective from the new academic year 2011-2012. The teaching staff should be trained in teaching English language and tasked a committee specialized in the field at the ministry to probe the competency of the teachers. It also tasked the ministry to determine the possibility of teaching English language prior to Grade 4 if the ministry makes the necessary arrangements. The Cabinet meeting was chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The Cabinet commended the recent amendment to the press laws. It noted that the amendments would uphold the values of honesty and credibility in the local media and guarantee the rights of those involved in the field and the rights of all citizens as well. The Cabinet also commended the directives of King Abdullah exempting dead citizens from paying the rest of installments of the Agricultural Fund. King Abdullah also briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his talks with Dr. Essam Sahraf, the Egyptian Prime Minister. King Abdullah has emphasized the depth of the bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Egypt. The Monarch also acquainted the Cabinet with the telephone call he received from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet discussed the recent developments in the region and the world. He said the Council hoped that the efforts being exerted by the GCC ministerial council would yield a final agreement achieving the stability and security in Yemen. The Cabinet also welcomed the Palestinian national reconciliation agreement and stressed the importance of unification of the Palestinian efforts to realize the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian. The Kingdom also strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the Moroccan city Marrakech which resulted in the killing of scores of innocent people and offered its condolences to the Moroccan leadership and people and families' victims as well. It also renewed its repeated call for firmly confronting and encountering the terrorism menace.
