The Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammad Al-Sheikh emphasized that the Ministry is the authority to issue licenses and consultations in international and foreign education instead of the education departments in the regions, after establishing a general administration for international and foreign schools within the organizational structure of the National Education Agency; In order to support investors in this important sector, and to develop ,regulate governance and procedures. the Minister of Education after his sponsorship of the Private and Foreign Education Investment Workshop today, said "This is the beginning of a new phase in accelerating decision-making processes, serving investors with a clear and transparent vision, flexible implementation of procedures, legislation and plans,". In order to achieve educational and educational goals according to the diversity of international programs in these schools, he stressed the depth of long-term relations between the Ministry of Education, representatives of the private and non-profit sectors, investors in education in general, and international, foreign and private education in particular, in keeping with the vision of the Kingdom 2030. The Ministry is doing everything in its efforts to support and strengthen the investment in education and to expand the establishment of international schools and academies to the highest standards of quality, thereby enhancing our educational outcomes.
H.E added: "We want to attract investors to operate special education schools with the potential to provide them with accommodation as boarding schools," , noting that education on special education will be a special priority in the areas of world investment, leading to a diversity in the educational stage, to undertake the needs of specific groups of students in different types and stages of education. He pointed out that the Ministry of Education is looking forward to reviewing the criteria and requirements for establishing governmental and private educational institutions according to cities, villages and human density, in coordination with the educational partners in the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Civil Defense. At the same time, he thanked all participants for the success of the workshop from representatives of the sectors of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Ministry of Investment, the General Authority of Small and medium enterprises, "Facilities" and TBC.
After that, Dr. Al-Sheikh held a long dialog with a number of investors in the field of private, foreign and international education, and officials of the private education committees in a number of regions of the Kingdom, where he listened to a number of experiences, visions and suggestions related to investment development, and strengthening partnership with the private sector. Achieving the learning outcomes of students through the adopted curricula, as well as identifying the challenges that the private sector faces in expanding private and higher education programs and academic curricula; And ways to remedy them during the next stage.
The workshop emphasized the role of the Kingdom's vision in raising the participation of the private sector in education to 25%, as well as creating an attractive environment for investment in the public education sector. And addressing the challenges that impede the expansion of private education. The deputy Ministry of Education for Private Education Dr. Maha Al-Saliman spoke during the opening of the workshop about the efforts of the Ministry of Education in the field of foreign ,private and higher education to achieve the country's orientation to support the expansion of the sector and achieve the vision of the Kingdom 2030. stressing the importance of integration with the relevant parties to provide appropriate support. The Minister of Education is also concerned with the care of students with disabilities, and the Minister has stated that the priority in granting schools to special education investors could be to equip the building and prepare it for the beneficiaries; to provide an integrated system of work, including: Early intervention and other support services in parallel with the educational aspect to achieve a successful and specialized learning journey, thus enabling through transitional services; students with disabilities to gradually move to learn in integration schools. In the challenges facing the higher and foreign education sector in the Kingdom, The advisor of the Private Education Agency Hanan Al Sultan confirmed that the ministry works hard to facilitate and overcome the challenges facing the higher and foreign education in the Kingdom, explaining that the ministry has identified a number of technical and administrative challenges for this sector, also, the challenges related to the educational environment.
During the workshop, Chancellor Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Barak disclosed the competence of the General Department of higher and Foreign Education to develop and facilitate the requirements and licensing requirements of higher and foreign schools, language institutes and cultural centers to issue them, and to facilitate the study of licensing applications and recommendations. And preparing professional license standards for workers in higher and foreign schools in coordination with the Education Evaluation Authority.
Dr. Reem Al-Turki, the Investment Development Agency in the Education sector in the Ministry of Investment, clarified that the Education sector in the Kingdom is considered one of the most prominent sectors that cooperate with all other investment sectors. The Ministry of Investment, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, is working to overcome the difficulties faced by foreign investors and facilitate investment vehicles in the education sector in the Kingdom.
The project support fund initiative in the education sector was launched by the head of business development in the Ministry of Finance, Talal Bukhari, who said that the support fund targets the education sectors in schools, colleges and training institutes, as the number of support fund projects reached 15 projects with a funding value exceeding 340 million Riyals so far. In addition, support targets local and international investors in line with the Ministry of Education strategy. The investment in the evacuated building sector was discussed by Eng. Adel Al-Sobhi, from TBC, and the continuous coordination between the departments of education, the Private Education Agency and the General Investment Agency on the mechanism of investing the decoding buildings. He also announced the introduction of 12 buildings for award after signing contracts.
The general supervisor of secondary education courses and specialized academies Dr. Ibrahim Al-Hamidan also reviewed a working paper entitled "High secondary courses and specialized academies", emphasizing the importance of investing in these courses and academies.
The workshop was attended by Assistant Minister of Education Dr. Saad Al Faheed, and several officials in the ministry, representatives of ministries, bodies and the private sector.