special report - in saudi arabia, a clamour for education - projector for school education

JEDDAH (Reuters)-
Saudi teenager Abdul Rahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it doesn't look like it will change soon.
"Our course is not enough," said Saeed, 16, who went to a full
Male public school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.
"It's just theory teaching and we don't have the practice or guidance to prepare for the job market.
Saeed wanted to learn physics, but was worried that his state high school would fail him.
The curriculum is out of date, he says, and teachers simply repeat what is written in the textbook without adding any practical value or discussion.
Even if the teacher did do more than basic knowledge, the 32-year-old class in Saeed was too big for him to get enough attention.
While children in Europe and Asia usually start learning a language at the age of five or six, Saudi students start learning English at the age of 12.
It takes a lot of time to learn religion and complete a lot of practice in moral education.
A task for Grade 8 students: "discuss the problems, causes, effects, and treatment of staying up late.
In the face of rising unemployment, Saeed has put some of his education in his hands.
He learned how to use the Internet independently and set up research projects for himself in his own time, trying to make up for the school's shortcomings.
"The existing subjects are not enough to give us the profession or specialization we need to do this job," he complained . ".
Saudi Arabia, the world's fifth-largest oil reserve, has almost tripled its foreign assets to $400 billion due to high oil prices (
248 billion)since 2005.
Thinkers in the region had a profound impact on the development of medieval Western science.
But from kindergarten to university, its national education system has hardly entered modern times.
It focuses on religious and Arab studies and has long worked to develop scientists, engineers, economists and lawyers needed by Saudi Arabia.
High school textbooks on literature, history and even science often cite Quran verses.
Employers complain that college graduates have few computers.
Understand and fight with English.
Some students were very upset and they took to the streets to protest.
"Education in our country cannot be compared to education abroad," said Dina Faisal, a 15-year-old mother.
One-year-old student in Jeddah
"We lack science, physics and biology.
This is what is needed to move the country forward.
There have been some changes, but they are far from complete.
Six years ago, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Abdul was shocked at how many young Saudis were out of work.
Aziz carried out a comprehensive reform of public schools and universities.
This effort is part of a series of reforms aimed at alleviating the influence of religious clergy, building a modern state and diversifying the economy from oil to create more jobs.
However, reform is controversial, especially in the field of education.
Adding more science classes means reducing religious activity.
A direct challenge to the Wahabi clergy, who helped establish the kingdom in 1932 and dominated most of the region of society.
"The Saudi education system is particularly difficult to reform because it has traditionally been one of the main areas in which clerics have an influence," said Jane kinimon of economist intelligence . ".
"Maintaining technocrats control over education may require a power struggle with conservative clergy. ” Many reform-
When Abdullah announced the change for the first time, the thoughtful Saudis were optimistic.
Since then, however, the pace of reform has been slow.
In the past few months, the chance for Saudi rulers to really fight the clergy has disappeared.
King Abdullah, 87, was recuperating in Morocco after two months of treatment in the United States.
A slightly younger crown prince, Sultan bin Abdul
Aziz has spent most of the past two years in Morocco and the United States because of an unspecified disease.
Many Saudi observers believe that,
Aziz, a senior Interior Minister, has a close relationship with the clergy and has a cold attitude towards reform. after being promoted to the second deputy prime minister in 2009, he is likely to take over. “Reform?
Asked Simon Henderson in Washington.
Author of several studies on Saudi succession.
"It's dying. . .
Since naev became the second deputy prime minister
Abdullah also lost energy for this.
Abdullah took out $2.
4 billion "Tatweer" initiative
Tatweer is developed in Arabic-
In 2005, a commitment was made to reform teaching methods, emphasizing science and training 500,000 teachers.
The King has repeatedly said that giving young people a better education is at the heart of his plan to build a modern state and combat religious extremism.
"Humanity has always been the target of malicious attacks by extremists who speak words of hatred, fear of dialogue and seeking destruction," King Abdullah said at the inauguration of the country's first mixed race on 2009.
University of gender, high
The Science and Technology Park near Jeddah has an estimated budget of $10 billion.
"Unless we learn to coexist without conflict, we cannot fight with them. . .
There is no doubt that embracing the scientific center of peoples is the first line of defense against extremists.
"Since then, the number of public and private universities that graduate about 300,000 of high school students each year has increased from 8 before 2005 to 32, the Ministry of Higher Education said. A large female-
A university is being built near Riyadh airport.
Before the new University took root, the government had offered scholarships to 109,000 students to study at top universities mainly in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Schools are also changing.
In two years, new math and science textbooks will be available in all primary and high schoolsS.
Standards, the government says.
Thousands of teachers are receiving additional training.
Primary schools will still focus mainly on teaching Arabic and religion, but more science and math classes will be offered in high school.
"We didn't say we had no problem, but things are getting better.
"It's changing," said Nayef al.
Roomi, deputy minister in charge of development education, showed a chart of course changes in his office and tried to ignore the constant ringing of his mobile phone and desktop phone.
"Education is not a factory.
We will see results for at least three years.
So far, however, progress has hardly been seen.
2007 study of respected Trends in International Mathematics and Scientific Research (TIMSS)
Saudi students ranked third
The last in eighth grade mathematics
The Kingdom ranks fifth in science. last.
Saudi Arabia ranked 129 in the UNESCO 2008 index for assessing the quality of education.
Analysts say there has been no significant improvement in British education over the past four years.
"I think that if all the plans are implemented, 10 years is a realistic option to see real changes," said a consultant working at the Ministry of Education, he asked for anonymity because of the risk of challenging the official view.
A 2008 study by Booz & Company said that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries have made progress and agreed that obvious results can be achieved within a decade, although "achieving a full-scale economic impact may require a period that is passed on from generation to generation.
Even so, these changes will only change the system to some extent.
Take school textbooks.
The government has begun to cut comments urging the Saudis to kill "pagan" Christians and Jews.
But the book still says the Saudis should avoid it. Muslims.
Reuters mentioned in a new religious textbook that "the Prophet (Mohammed)
Because they set up places of worship around the tomb of the prophet, they cursed the Jews and Christians.
"In the past, pagans were mentioned in the textbook saying they had to be killed.
"Now, it still refers to pagans, but says we can't use violence when dealing with them," Dina said . ".
Changing this situation requires a "change of mind", the consultant said ".
"It's not just about introducing new textbooks.
But clergy and conservatives dominate the Ministry of Education, diplomats and education experts say.
Among Conservative officials
Level positions sometimes delay or ignore instructions from above.
There does not seem to be much change in teaching materials and teaching methods.
"We can't say that any comprehensive education reform plan is going on," said Kinninmont of the EIU . ".
Efforts to address education stem from a concern that millions of young Saudi people are unemployed --
70% of the country's nearly 19 million people are under 30.
The secret of activism.
Fifteen-19 terrorists attacked 9/11 Saudis in the United States, although a massive government operation ended in 2003 and within 2006 countries.
Last year, 172 Saudis linked to al-Qaida were arrested, proving that the Islamic State is still actively recruiting in Saudi Arabia.
The economy is working well and the US economy is improving. S.
Ally has just released a record budget for the third time in a row.
The problem is that companies are more willing to hire foreign employees than locals, largely because of the low quality of education.
The number of expats working in Saudi Arabia increased by 37% to 8.
4 million in the past six years.
According to John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi, expatriates now fill nine of the 10 jobs in the private sector.
Labor Minister Adil Fakieh said in January 25 that the government hopes to create 5 million jobs for the Saudis by 2030, but economists think it is unlikely.
The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia has risen.
The official figure for 2010 is 10%;
The unemployment rate for women is probably three times that.
The state imposed quotas on the proportion of local workers that private companies must employ.
But the company has become an expert in getting around the law because they hire a lot of locals
A banker in Riyadh said adding jobs, or splitting the company into smaller entities, was "just to get a smaller quota ".
In the past, many Saudis worked with the government.
But Britain is one of the regions with the highest rate of population growth, so citizens no longer get these jobs automatically.
In stark contrast to a generation ago, you can find that the Saudis work as taxi drivers, supermarket cashiers, or private security guards with a net income of only 1,500 riyals ($400)a month.
"I was surprised to see the Saudis working in the supermarket.
It was impossible 10 years ago, "a Western diplomat said in his second Saudi presence.
Mr. Nael Fayez, Injaz
Government organizations that help students prepare for the job market believe that education is the main problem.
"The gap between the requirements of the private sector and the products produced by public schools is growing," he said.
"We need to fill that gap.
"This gap is at least partly filled by a plan designed to educate the Best Foreign universities overseas in Saudi Arabia.
The officials who supported the king wanted the students to come back with new ideas and a desire to change the status quo.
The question is: many people prefer to live abroad.
"There's more to be done today --to-
One day: go to a park, movie theater, theater or restaurant with your friend or girlfriend, "said Osama Zede, 23.
Saudi Arabia studying in Boston.
In Saudi Arabia, a teenager spends his spare time watching TV or going to a shopping mall, and religious police ensure that there are no unrelated men and women meeting in restaurants or cafes.
"People are more friendly, everyone is accepted by the society and more open --minded.
There are no entertainment activities in Saudi Arabia.
You need entertainment, "another Saudi student studied at the same University after graduating from high school in the United States. S. city.
There is no data on how many Saudi students plan to stay overseas, but Riyadh's bankers say that some of the best people studying in the US often appear on Wall Street rather than going home. “Expectation-
Management is a big problem.
"Young people who grew up on the Internet are not happy to sit at home, even if the state guarantees basic income," said a Riyadh diplomat . ".
"They want to do something.
"Saudi officials have also pinned their hopes on domestic private schools and universities that have sprung up in major cities over the past five years.
A new technical college in a residential area in eastern Riyadh is an example.
From the outside, the school looks like a typical state university.
A high wall around a large mosque blocks a white brick house.
Internally, the differences are radical.
GTZ, the German national aid agency that paid for the project by the Saudi government, has installed laptops, power display facilities and electronic workstations.
The goal of 45 teachers managing the school is to train Saudi vocational teachers who can change the way more than 100 technical colleges work across the country.
These students have graduated from state technical high school, but they feel they have entered a new world.
Mohammed al-said: "It's completely different, better, the way to try things, the material, compared to previous Institutes
Mansour is from najilan, near the border with Yemen, where he studied.
Apps pile up.
2,000. The College has admitted 450 students, but plans to expand to 2,000 in 2012.
24-said: "This is amazing, much better than I thought
One-year-old Ahmed hamdash from Riyadh spoke while his friend was measuring power currents at a workstation at his desk.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for the students is to find that the teacher is not just reading from books.
Teacher Bernhard Horman said, "Let's do it again . " He insisted that everyone in the class test the current correctly.
"We want them to solve the problem themselves," said Raimund Sobetzko, vice president of the school . ". Nayef al-
Tammy hopes he can go to such a university.
Like thousands of other Saudis.
Tamimi graduated from university as an Arabic language teacher, but has been working for years to find a job that pays a decent salary.
At a private school, he earns 2,000 rials a month.
Much less than the 8,000 he got when he was a government teacher.
"In private schools, I compete with foreigners.
Egyptian, Jordanian, Palestinian
It's hard, "he said.
This year, along with about 250 graduates, he organized a series of protests in front of Riyadh's Ministry of Education, a bold move by a country that does not tolerate public dissent.
Although the police are quick to show up whenever the group gathers, Tami says the protests will continue until they all find state jobs they desperately seek.
The government may eventually decide to hire protesters to end demonstrations that have already started to make headlines around the world.
But critics of reform, including political opponents, say the problem will continue until the ruling Saudi family allows more freedom and independent thinking --
This progress will depend on the King of the future.
Saudi Arabia has no elected parliament, but King Abdullah has forced Saudi society to open up so little.
Saudi newspapers are now discussing reforms, with a little more access to education and the job market for women.
Will the more conservative King overthrow these?
"How do you reform education without democracy?
Asked Mohammed Al.
Senior dissidents based in Riyadh, Qahtani.
"I tell you there will be no improvement in education in five years.