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[nomad soul]

Elementary schools to teach English language
Saudi Gazette | May 28, 2014
Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140529206780

MADINAH – English language will now be taught from fourth grade in all schools in the Kingdom, Minister of Education Prince Khalid Al-Faisal was quoted as saying by Al-Watan Arabic language daily on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved a five-year plan worth more than SR80 billion ($21.33 billion) to develop the education sector. The plan includes building 1,500 nurseries, providing training for about 25,000 teachers and establishing educational centers and other related projects.

The SR80 billion are in addition to what is being allocated annually to the Education Ministry. The minister said in an earlier statement that the new SR80 billion program focuses on training teachers, developing talents of students, upgrading school administrations, and school infrastructure. It also focuses on children with special needs and the talented ones. It will end the problem of rented buildings used as schools, most of which are not appropriate for any educational activity and lack basic safety and health requirements.

Prince Khaled said 3,200 schools serving over 1.5 million students in all regions will be built. They will be linked with the Internet, and e-learning will be introduced in all of them. Over 250,000 smart classes will be provided. He said SR5 billion has been earmarked to train teachers over the next five years. Some 25,000 male and female teachers will be sent to advanced countries to get acquainted with and trained on the latest developments in the field of teaching.

The minister said 1,500 kindergartens serving 150,000 male and female students will be built while 3,500 job opportunities will be created for female teachers over the next five years. Priority will be given to small cities, highly-populated neighborhoods, and those with limited income.

(End of article)

[lcanupp1964]

I was speaking with one of the deans at KAU about this today. He also added that within two years, the prep-year programs at universities in the Kingdom will require students to take 25 hours (up from 18 hours) of English instruction per week and all other basic courses that students currently take in the PYP will be taken away. In other words, nothing but English instruction during the one year prep program. My first question when hearing this was regarding the extra hours that each instructor would have to teach. He said that, at least at KAU, teachers would get seven hours of overtime added to their pay each week because the current contract states that each instructor can only teach 18 hours per week. If this does happen, I would image that any instructor that gets hired after the new program starts (if it ever starts at all - we all know WHERE we work ) would sign a modified contract with 25 hours of instruction written in, so they would not have to keep paying OT. I honestly don't know if it will ever happen, but it is interesting. The extra pay comes to a little over 4000sr a month if the overtime rate stays at 150sr per hour.

[mashkif]

[scot47]

"If a student learns X amount of English in Y Time, then he will learn 2x English in 2y Time."

Discuss this proposition with a Saudi administrator.

[Rostom]

[scot47]

No need for smart, they have "betrool".

[nomad soul]

On a related note...

International schools catch on with Saudis
By Ibrahim Naffee, Arab News | 29 September 2014
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/637221

JEDDAH: International schools in the Kingdom are steadily gaining popularity among Saudi students due to parents’ perceptions that their children stand to acquire a more well-rounded education in these schools despite the high fees. According to recently published statistics, there are currently 321 foreign schools in the Kingdom conducting 8,000 classes and attended by 180,000 students of which 2 percent are Saudis.

“I have enrolled my sons in an international school in Jeddah. While the academic program is excellent, the fees are very high,” Hamed Al-Olyan, a Saudi living in Jeddah, told Arab News.

Riyadh has the largest number of students enrolled in its foreign schools, estimated at 80 schools with some 65,000 students, while Jeddah is considered the largest city in terms of the number of schools, with around 95 establishments, followed by the Eastern Province, which has 56 schools with a total of 80,000 students, according to government statistics. Alkhobar is considered the best city for foreign schools in the Eastern Province and third in the Kingdom, with a total number of around 40,000 students.

Some Saudi families refuse to register their children in international schools fearing that the pedagogy in these schools will weaken the Arab and Islamic culture. "I have enrolled my elder son in an international school in Jeddah and think that it will help him achieve his aspirations. But I hope my son will preserve his Arab and Islamic culture,” Turki Abdul Khaleq, a Saudi resident, told Arab News.

There are two kinds of foreign schools in the Kingdom: the community schools run by the embassies of countries for their nationals living in Saudi Arabia and the international schools teaching British and American curricula. There are approximately 75 community schools in the Kingdom. “It is important for Saudi private schools to develop their academic programs to attract more students as the international schools have done. At present, there is strong competition between Saudi private schools and international schools,” Abdul Aziz Al-Makhlouf, a Saudi private school director in Jeddah, said. International schools are normally supervised by foreign international organizations such as SABIS, the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) or the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSASC) while foreign community schools are guided by the syllabuses of their countries.

(End of article)

[Betrayer of Hope]

I am assuming English will be taught to 4th graders in Arabic by Saudis or other Arabs, depending on the school. I guess it's better than nothing

[nomad soul]

[jaffa]

I've got a smart board n my classroom. It doesn't work and never has.

[The Fifth Column]

[jaffa]

No no no! You mustn't write on it as the ink doesn't rub off even if you use a non-permanent pen. But you can type onto it, although I could do that before on a simple whiteboard. The director didn't understand my satirical email questioning the merits of spending 25,000SR on the infernal contraption when he could have just given the cash to me, or ISIS, or his own pocket.

[Hatcher]

So I am now in an Asian country after a couple of years in the KSA.

Normal here... hate to use that word "civilized" but that's what comes to mind.

Yesterday, I was in a coffee shop and in walks a couple of Arab Muslim women and an Asian woman. I was thinking Malaysian.

They sat at the next table. I heard them talk about Saudi Arabia. One of them was trying to figure out if she could bring her brother here claiming he was her husband.

I asked them, are you from Saudi? Yes, she said in a shy manner. She said she enjoys here time here for many reasons such as going outside during the day and has so many more options.

In fact, quite a few Saudis here and they all seem to have adjusted nicely. Lots studying the language and traveling.

Nice to have a short chat without some baboon around threatening all out war if I didnt leave.

[Hatcher]

I didnt even know they taught English in the KSA>

[johnslat]

Dear Hatcher,

They teach it - the problem is most don't learn it.

Regards,
John