The government of Saudi Arabia has always recognized the importance of providing educational opportunities to girls as well as boys.

Promoting the concept of equal educational opportunities for the sexes posed a problem but one that was ameliorated by Islam’s insistence on the importance of learning in general (Muslims are exhorted “to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”) and the high status accorded to women within Islamic society in particular.

The private schools before 1380H were the beginning of education of the Saudi woman. This type of education has passed through three phases: In the first phase a woman or a group of women would educate the girls on specific subjects such as Holy Qur'an as well as the principles of writing and reading at their homes. The second phase was of semi-regulatory schools which had no curriculum or observation such as that of the currently organized private schools. The private elementary school for girls in Makkah, which was established in 1362H, is classified among the oldest private schools the Kingdom has witnessed.

Girls education was developed gradually in order to fulfill the social and economical requirement for the state. We could perceive that through the achievements of the General Presidency for Girls Education, the number of schools, colleges and institutions allocated for girl education in the Kingdom has increased remarkably. The figures will show how educational opportunities for girls were developed between 1970 and 2000.
 

• Male & Female Students in Saudi Arabia 1970 - 2000
• Graphical Representation of Students in Saudi Arabia 1970 - 2000

Male & Female Students in Saudi Arabia 1970 - 2000

Year	Male	Female	Total
1970	412,000	135,000	547,000
1975	673,000	311,000	984,000
1980	951,000	511,000	1,462,000
1985	1,273,000	876,000	2,149,000
1990	1,624,000	1,310,000	2,934,000
1995	2,022,000	1,912,000	3,934,000
2000	2,405,000	2,369,000	4,774,000
Source: http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/

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Detailed statistical information can be found here.

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Education
At the time the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, education was not accessible to everyone and limited to individualized instruction at religious schools in mosques in urban areas.

The objectives of Saudi educational policy are to ensure that education becomes more efficient, to meet the religious, economic and social needs of the country and to eradicate illiteracy among Saudi adults.

Entering a new era of rapid development of the country's infrastructure and economy in the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia devoted special attention to fostering higher education.

The Special Education Department of the Ministry of Education operates schools for the blind, deaf and the physically and mentally handicapped. Other institutes care for older handicapped people.

The Kingdom has identified technical and administrative training as an essential sector of education to support the country's economic and social development.