A number of schools in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam have been selected for the implementation of the King Abdullah Project for General Education Development, according to Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, director general of the education administration in Makkah.

The SR9 billion project will be implemented over the next six years to guarantee the availability of a highly skilled and motivated work force in the future.

Crown Prince Sultan will head a ministerial committee to supervise the project, which will begin with creating a high-tech classroom environment in the Kingdom in six years. More than 400,000 teachers will be trained to handle classes in the high-tech style. “In the initial phase, students of selected high schools will join orientation courses during the vacation while actual classes will start from next school year,” said Naif Al-Rumi, director general of the project.

“The syllabus in the new system would be designed to guarantee the full development of a student’s personality besides driving deep in him the religious and family values, social commitment and patriotism,” he said.

Al-Rumi elaborated on the plan saying that a broad based teaching cadre and officials for education administration and supervision will be prepared. High-tech classrooms with network linking with the ministry will be readied. The project will also stress on extracurricular activities with the aim of developing intellectual, creative and communicative skills of students.

Last updated: 13^th September 2008