Saudi National Day

Solid efforts; well-achieved results witnessed in education development field

Education development policy keeps up with scientific, tech. advancement

Reports cite great progress in industrial, commercial, agricultural, desalination sectors

The recent project launched by Saudi Arabia for the development of public education will cost a total of SR11.8 billion (US$3.1 billion), which will be distributed over the next five years to implement four programs as part of the overall project to improve the quality of education

. The program to improve public education has received the highest budget, amounting to SR4.2 billion (US$1.12 billion). Another SR3.58 billion (US$954.6 million) has been allocated to extra-curricular activities whilst SR2.943 billion (US$784.8 million) was assigned to train male and female teachers. The curriculum development program has been given a sum of SR980 million (US$261.3 million). The concerned authorities will prepare an operational plan for the project that is expected to be completed shortly.

The project, that the Ministry of Education is preparing to implement, seeks to improve the overall quality of education - in turn producing generations of Saudis who would contribute to the development of the nation and society - by achieving a number of objectives including: the development of educational curricula to comply with modern scientific and technical developments and meet the value-based, knowledge, professional, psychological, physical, mental and lifestyle needs of male and female students and re-qualification of teachers and preparing them to carry out their educational duties. Among the goals of the project is improving the educational environment and preparing to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) in education to stimulate learning. This is in order to achieve a higher level of efficiency in acquiring information and training, as well as strengthening personal and creative capabilities, developing skills and hobbies, satisfying psychological needs of students, and strengthening ideas as well as national and social relations through extra-curricular activities of various kinds

. In addition to the national experience, the project will take into consideration international experiences through correspondence with- and benefiting from- international educational institutions.

The project has been met with great interest and consideration shown by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The king announced that a supreme committee would be established headed by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, who occupies the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation, Inspector General and Chairman of the Education Committee. The committee is made up of various members such as the Minister of Labor, Dr. Ghazi al-Qusaibi, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, Minister of Economy and Planning, Khalid al-Qusaibi, Minister of Education, Dr. Abdullah al-Obaid and Minister of State, Matlab al-Nafeesa

. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also requested that members of the cabinet provide the committee with proposals related to the project in particular and education in general. The committee had formed a subcommittee to study the third and fourth points [of the project], another subcommittee to study the first point, and a final subcommittee to study the second issue and offer comprehensive insight regarding the mechanism for the implementation of programs and estimating costs for their implementation.

The Chairman of the Committee suggested that the committee should benefit from international experiences and expertise in the process of reforming and developing education by visiting and listening to information and opinions based on successful global experiences. Based on these directives, a number of committees were formed by representatives from the Ministry of Education and the committee, as well as the ministries of finance, economy, planning and labor. A number of visits have been organized to the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, France, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, China and Japan.

Saudi Arabia has set strategic plans to develop education like in other countries around the world. For example in December 2006, the United Kingdom issued a statement reflecting its vision for education until 2020. This vision stated that schools, which have their own private budgets, as well as departments of local and national education, must design educational services in accordance with achieving international standards.

It has been observed that the training of teachers is important to the aforementioned countries. Specialized authorities were created to supervise the process of preparing and training teachers before and after being appointed for the job. It was emphasized through visits to these countries that the training of teachers is divided into two stages: pre-teaching training conducted by universities and institutions specializing in preparing teachers and training whilst at work, which is carried out by the Ministry of Education.

King Abdullah’s project for the development of public education will target the four constituent elements. The development of curricula is a vital and continuous process that is required to meet the needs of communities in order to preserve values and traditions. In addition, it is important that these curricula keep up with the scientific and technological developments and present them using correct scientific methods through trained and qualified teachers. This is in addition to providing them with ongoing training even after appointment to ascertain their understanding of the latest experience and the best use of technical equipment through an integrated learning environment.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), funded with a $10 billion endowment from the king and slated to open in 2009, is central to Saudi Arabia's effort to overhaul its system of higher education and become a global center of collaborative science and technology research. The development of the University was assigned to Saudi Aramco by King Abdullah.

KAUST has formed five-year partnerships with three major United States institutions, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. It has also partnered with Imperial College London under the Academic Excellence Alliance Partnership. Under the agreements, the mechanical engineering department at Berkeley, the computer-science department and Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stanford, and the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas will help pick the faculty and develop the curriculum for KAUST. The total KAUST community will number approximately 20,000 people. Campus still under construction, the campus site is in a unique coastal location near the fishing village of Thuwal, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Jeddah. The total area is more than 36 million square meters (nearly 9,000 acres), including a unique coral-reef ecosystem that will be preserved by the University as a marine sanctuary, and will be a focus for research.

Saudi university teachers across the Kingdom are expected to receive a pay hike making them highest paid employees in the public sector. The new scales include an increase of 20 to 30 percent in the salaries plus offering other perks and incentives.

The revised salary scale extends the retirement age of university teachers to 70 years and offers them a chance to double their salaries through incentives guaranteed to them for their research units, patenting their invention and other academic activities.

Professors with rare specializations will be given additional allowance between 20 to 40 percent, besides incentives for those who work in remote areas.

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. Established in 1975, the Ministry of Higher Education embarked on a long-term master plan to enable the Saudi educational system to provide the highly trained manpower necessary to run the country's increasingly sophisticated economy.

One of the first objectives was to establish new institutes of higher education throughout the country and expand existing ones. By 1999, there were eight major universities and a large number of other institutions of higher education. By 2003, there were also several private institutes of higher education, with more planned. Another objective was to establish undergraduate and postgraduate programs in most disciplines at Saudi universities and colleges. As a result, Saudi students can now obtain degrees in almost any field within the country and, only if necessary, pursue specializations abroad.

In 1993, the late King Fahd, who had always been closely associated with the development of education in Saudi Arabia, introduced new provisions for the Higher Education Council and the University System, with the objective of further improving the efficiency of Saudi universities by offering programs in new fields, encouraging greater cooperation among Saudi institutes of higher learning and increasing involvement of the teaching staff in the operations of faculties.

By the 2003-04 academic year, there were around 200,000 students at Saudi universities and colleges, a dramatic improvement over the 7,000 students enrolled in 1970. Of that number, more than one half are female students studying at the five universities - King Saud, King Abdulaziz, King Faisal, Imam Muhammad bin Saud and Umm Al-Qura - that accept both male and female students, and also at the numerous colleges set up exclusively for women.

In 1999 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, following the recommendations of scholars and researchers from the Ministry of Education, the ( then) Presidency of Girls’ Education, the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, and King Saud University, announced the creation of the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted.

Under a Board of Directors, comprised of princes, ministers, business people, and eminent specialists, the Foundation has been directed to coordinate and supervise all efforts at identifying the gifted and talented, assisting them in their education and supporting them in their productive endeavors.

Over the past five years, the Foundation has made great strides in creating the basic framework and organization for attaining those goals.

• To Facilitate and Foster giftedness, Invention and Creativity.

• To Create Professional pathways in the areas of Medicine, Environmental Science, Communication, Education, the Arts, Telecommunication, Engineering Science, and Technology.

• To Support and provide enriched educational activity for the gifted and talented students of the Kingdom.

• To educate the population (parents, teachers, and employers) about methods of nurturing gifts and talents.

• To assist educational and professional institutions across the Kingdom in the creation of a comprehensive program for the gifted and talented.

An on-Going Success Story… The Foundation functions as an initiator, a broker, and a clearinghouse for scholarships targeting the talented.

Helping young scholars find the funding to continue their pursuit of excellence is a serious objective of the Foundation.

A prime example occurred over the last two years as the Foundation helped Hayat Sindi complete her Doctoral Program in bio-technology at Cambridge University. Besides making a contribution in the field of medicine, practical applications of her research with acoustic sensors have stretched into robotics and aviation sciences. The Foundation is very proud of its involvement with Dr. Sindi.

The office of the Scientific Affairs of the Foundation is making an effort to become a center for the inventive spirit of the Kingdome. We are developing an organization that nurtures new ideas, facilitates the inventive process, and supports inventors as they bring their creations to the marketplace.

Furthermore, we have created an on-going forum on invention. Led by some of the best minds in the Kingdom, the Foundation addresses issues as practical as current trends in Science, Engineering and Technology or as cutting edge as the role of creativity in the future of Saudi education. Recently, the Foundation supported the work of Dr. Amr K. Al Qutub of the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology. Dr. Al Qutub’s refinements of the internal combustion engine are truly exciting.

The ‘Qutub Engine’ is lighter, smaller, and more powerful than similar engines currently on the market. Uniquely, it is capable of burning several types of fuel with reduced emissions. a great help to our planet’s environment and to economically challenged communities of the world. The Foundation funds and supports the Ministry of Education’s six regional centers for gifted education. These centers – in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Dammam, and Al Hassa – work at identifying gifted children , provide them with enriched educational activity, and assist in the continuing education of the whole community about the nature of giftedness and the role that talents and talented people will play in the future of the Kingdom. Additionally, the Foundation is committed to the on-going education of all those who contribute to the lives of gifted children. The Foundation works hard at providing informational seminars and workshops for parents as well as pre-service and in-service training for teachers and counselors.

Saudi Arabia's water desalination output exceeded one billion cubic meters in 2002, reported the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Currently, 70 percent of the Kingdom’s drinking needs are provided through desalination, generating 3,600 megawatts of electric power.

SWCC confirmed these figures at the inauguration of the Shuaiba Phase Two project. Shuaiba is the second largest desalination plant in the Kingdom, supplying 154 million gallons of water and 500 megawatts of electricity. The second phase will double the quantity of water supplied by the plant to Makkah, and Taif, and will increase the supply to Jeddah by 60 percent.

Saudi Arabia is the largest desalinated water producer in the world, contributing to 30 percent of global production, according to official statistics. Desalinized seawater currently constitutes Saudi Arabia’s chief source for drinking water. The Saudi government transports its desalinated water via a 2,500 kilometer pipeline network, 21 pumping stations, 131 depots and 10 stations for mixing the desalinated water with underground water.

SWCC started its works by constructing single purpose plants (to produce potable water only) and later dual purpose plants (to produce water and power). Within its activities, thanks to God, SWCC gained tremendous achievements in field of sea water desalination represented in supplying high percentage Saudi nationals and expatriates requirements of drinking water in the main cities through 27 plants, producing 2 million m3 of water daily, and about 4000 MW of electricity.

SWCC recorded a 3.3 per cent increase in the amount of desalinated water produced in the kingdom during the fiscal year of 2007, totaling 1.066 million cubic meters compared to the previous year’s volume.

In the report carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al Hussayen, who is also chairman of SWCC, reiterated the keenness of the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to develop the SWCC and improve its operational efficiency.

“From this standpoint, Royal directives have been issued to privatize and restructure the Corporation within the framework of the State’s policy towards privatization of all water utilities,” he said.

He added that the privatization of the Corporation is moving ahead in the right direction. So far, five of the seven stages set for the completion of phases of the privatization program have been completed, leaving only two stages of restructuring and special regulations as well as determining tariffs, issuance of the necessary decisions, identifying buyers and preparing the bidding documents for investors.

In the foreword to the report he stressed the importance of water conservation as a precious national resource for which the government has been exerting great efforts for the development of water sources and has spent billions of riyals to construct 30 desalination plants on the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea coasts.

SWCC attributed the increase to the completion of the reconstruction program for the desalination units at the fourth desalination plant in Jeddah Governorate and the second plant in Al Khobar Governorate within the overall coverage of the program, implemented by the corporation for the reconstruction of a number of projects.

The report said that nearly 30 plants are providing desalinated water for use in the Kingdom. Six of these plants are built along the east coast (Arabian Gulf) of the Kingdom and the rest of the 24 water desalination stations are located on the west coast (Red Sea). These plants provide the largest industrial base for water desalination in the world.

During the fiscal year under review, the quantity of the desalinated water from the six east coast plants increased by 3.2 per cent compared to 2006 while the quantity of the desalinated water from west coast plants increased by 3.4 per cent.

The report said that in addition to SWCC’s efforts in the sphere of the production of desalinated water, it continues to make strides in the electric power generation field from the plant in Al Ardh where the amount of electrical energy produced during 2007 increased to 21 million megawatts.

With regard to the private sector’s participation in desalination projects, the report said that work is underway to implement a number of cogeneration projects that were approved by the Supreme Economic Council, which gave an opportunity for the private sector’s participation and investment on the basis of specific criteria, providing for 66 per cent to investor, 32 per cent to the Public Investment Fund and 8 per cent to Saudi Electricity Company.

According to the report, the number of projects that received the private sector’s investment include: the third phase of Shuaiba plant with a daily production capacity of 1.30 million cubic meters of desalinated water and 900 megawatts of electricity; the second phase of Al Shuqaiq plant with a daily production capacity of 212,000 cubic meters of the desalinated water and 850 megawatts of electricity, and the third phase of Jubail plant which was merged with Marafiq Company's project in Jubail to reach a total daily production capacity of 800,000 cubic meters of the desalinated water and 2, 500 megawatts of electricity.

The report drew attention to the Royal approval to include Yanbu city project in its third phase within the plants that will be implemented with the private sector participation and a daily production capacity of 400,000 cubic meters of desalinated water.

The work is under way for the implementation of desalination plants in six Governorates including Al Wajh; Rabigh; Leith; Qunfudah; Farasan and Omluj. These will have a total daily production capacity of 63,000 cubic meters of desalinated water, involving a capital expenditure of SR801 million.

The report added that Jeddah Project (Phase III) has been using reverse osmosis process with a daily production capacity of 40,000 cubic meters of the desalinated water daily and Haql project (phase III) and Dheba Project (Phase IV) with a joint daily production capacity of 9,000 cubic meters of desalinated water, and Al-Wajh Project (phase IV) with a daily production capacity of 13,500 cubic meters per day of desalinated water.

The number of the existing licensed commercial firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia up to 2007 amounted to more than 695,000.The number the existing companies up to 2007 jumped to 18, 861 with a capital of about SR 570.5 billion.

The number of the stock companies amounted to 308 with an accumulated capital of about SR 412 BILLION. The number of companies which are with limited responsibilities amounted to 14,309 with an accumulated capital of about SR 143.5 Billion.

The number the solidarity companies amounted to 3047 with a capital of SR 4.1 Billion. The ministry of commerce undertakes supervision of the chambers of commerce and industry and councils of the Saudi chambers. It has been playing an effective role as regards activating the private sector.

Moreover, the ministry has been undertaking supervision of the markets so as to carry out the commercial systems and to fight commercial fraud.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved mammoth agricultural development, surmounting the difficulties of scarce rain, meager subterranean water, limited local manpower and widely dispersed cultivatable lands. The country has become self-sufficient in wheat, producing some four million tons in 1991(1411 H), up from 3,000 tons in 1970 (1390 H).

Through the Ministry of Agriculture, which was founded in 1953 (1373 H), the State has distributed free of charge to farmers and agricultural companies more than two million hectares of reclaimed uncultivated land.

The State has also met 45% of the cost of agricultural equipment and 50% of the cost of fertilizers. It has also built agricultural roads to facilitate the transport of products from production to consumption sites. As part of its effort to support agriculture, the Saudi Government has built more than 200 dams to preserve rainwater, with an estimated storage capacity of 689 million cubic meters.

To finance this development, the Saudi Agricultural Bank was established in 1964(1383 H). Being a specialized agricultural bank, it extends long-term, interest-free loans to farmers and agricultural companies. The Saudi Government has also supplied seeds and saplings at nominal prices. It has afforded veterinary and agricultural guidance and plant protection services. Other measures include the purchase of strategic agricultural crops, such as wheat and barley at high prices, through the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flour Mills. The State has encouraged the establishment of a number of large agricultural companies, with a capital of no less than SR 300 million each.

More than half of the Kingdom's cultivated area (57%) is in the central Riyadh and Qasseem Regions. In the south of the country, Jizan, Asir, Al Baha and Najran combined rank second with nineteen percent of the cultivated land, while Al Jouf, Tabouk and Hayel in the north rank third with thirteen percent. The Eastern and Western Regions together account for eleven percent of the cultivated land.

The Kingdom's annual wheat production reached 3.8 million tons in 1991, up from 26,000 in 1970. It was then decided to diversify agricultural products, reducing wheat and expanding barley and fodder production. The aim is to meet the needs of the country's growing animal resources, whose numbers are as follows

1. 6,000,000 sheep

2. 3.3 million goats

3. 413,000 camels

4. 200,000 cattle.

5. 50,000 fish

6. 250 million broiler chickens

7. 2.3 billion eggs

Meanwhile, the Kingdom's date production rose from 240,000 tons in 1970 (1390 H) to about 600,000 tons in 1995 (1415 H). The Kingdom has more than 13 million date palms.

The industrial base in the Kingdom has experienced a wide expansion over the past 30 years. The number of operating factories has increased from 472 factories in 1395H to 3,906 factories in 1427H, an increase close to 8 times. Parallel, invested capital has increased from SR 9,879 million in 1395H to about SR 296,533 million in 1427H, an increase equal to 30 times.

The sector composition structure of the operating factories in the Kingdom at the end of 1427H shows that the Manufactured Metal Products, Machinery, and Equipment Sector is heading all other sectors in terms of the number of factories (1081 factories representing 28% of total operating ones), while the Chemical Industries and Plastic Products sector occupied the leading position among the other industrial sectors by size of investments (SR 175,601 million representing 59% of total investments of operating factories). Other important sectors include: Building Materials, Ceramics, Glass and Food and Beverages. The latest two sectors collectively account for 31% of the total number of operating factories, and 22% of total investments.

As one form of support for the national industries, the government, represented by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has constructed and developed several industrial cities in the various regions of the Kingdom and provided them with all required services and utilities.

SABIC is the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chemicals, fertilizers, plastics and metals. It supplies these materials to other companies, which use them to make the products on which the world has come to depend.

SABIC is the largest and most reliably profitable public company in the Middle East with sound investor relations. This success is the result of our focus on three things: investment in local partnerships, the best research and technology programs, and an ambitious global growth strategy.

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Presently there are 14 industrial cities in the Kingdom distributed in (Riyadh 1st. and 2nd industrial cities), Qasseem, Dammam (1st. and 2nd. industrial cities(, Al-Ahsa, Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Ha'il, Al-Jauf, Tabouk, Asir and Najran. The total area of these cities jointly is equal to 92,773,051 square km of which, 47% has been developed, and 39% has been allocated (considering that some of these cities had been allocated in full). There are nearly 2000 plants in these industrial cities and the estimated number of employees is approximately 300,000 people.

In the last 30 year, industry significantly developed in the Kingdom. The petrochemical sector was the corner stone of the industrial development in the country.

The down stream sector includes a large number of productive factories which produce various products.

The governmental authorities which are concerned with the process of the industrial development include the ministry of commerce and industry, the Saudi Arabian general investment authority (sagia), the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the Saudi fund for industrial development.