CHAPTER FIVE: Ministry of Education
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My appointment as the Minister of Education was the biggest milestone in my life. I shouldered the direct responsibility of shaping the younger generation. In 2009, King Abdullah summoned me to tell me that I had been selected for this post because of the need to develop the educational system. Education is the foundation of all advancement and the primary guarantor of proper development, which hinges on sustainability. Building up capable citizenry begins in the classroom. When granting me the post, King Abdullah made it clear that he was putting his faith in me to spearhead the effort, saying: “This is a major responsibility and it goes from my care to yours.” Despite the immensity of the task, I did not hesitate to accept it. The first thing that came to my mind was Allah’s command to “Read!” ( Iqra’! ) in the Holy Quran, which evokes perseverance, advancement, knowledge, education, and development. I set off on my task in earnest as soon as I became acquainted with the ministry’s structure during the first month. The ministry was beginning to develop a strategic plan and put in place a vision for the future that aims to safeguard the coming generations and satisfy the expectations of King Abdullah, who ultimately bore the burden of this great responsibility. I remember the first phone call I received as minister. On my second day on the job, I was rung by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who was the Crown Prince at the time. He was abroad but would regularly call me to chat and joke. It was right after an article had been published in the newspaper the day before saying that the Minister of Education would adopt the usage of Arabic numerals. As always, he wanted to know whether this was true or just a rumor. He is known to closely follow all developments in the Kingdom, no matter how small. [40] What further added to the weight of the responsibility was the public ’s perception of the Ministry of Education at the time. The number one phrase I would hear from people after I was appointed was “May Allah help you.” It was always said with a tone of frustration and pessimism, as if everyone had completely lost hope in the ministry. It was in this context that I began to look into the facts on the ground. After I got familiar with the ministry, I became convinced that what it needed was a clear and workable strategy that serves its future objectives. This required a series of workshops that brought together education experts from both inside and outside of the ministry, as well as a diverse mix of institutions that could help us formulate an effective strategy in alignment with our present and future needs. During my first four months in office, we held a workshop with McKinsey and Company Global Management Consulting and Al Aghar Group, which involved around 100 participants. The workshop helped us isolate a set of four future directions, around which we established the ministry’s new strategy, including: 1. Establishing the Tatweer Education Holding Company to serve as the basis on which Saudi Arabia’s knowledge society is built. Tatweer will provide the ministry with investment mechanisms and engage the private sector to create knowledge corridors. This will better enable the ministry to carry out its primary functions and delegate other responsibilities to competent agencies set up under Tatweer’s auspices.
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