Quality of education was the theme of the first conference organized by the Ministry of Education, the success of which was in large part due to the female employees at the ministry. In cooperation with UNESCO, the Kingdom established the first education quality center in the region, which was the fruit of a massive effort to make education quality the overarching framework for programs to increase students’ success rates. Numerous programs were set up to develop, empower and motivate teachers and overcome systemic barriers they may face. The ministry felt the future challenge pertaining to providing high-quality teachers. After all, teaching is not a mere profession, but a mission that is based first and foremost on a deeply rooted sense of loyalty and duty to building the future and qualifying coming generations. There were plans to create programs that achieve these goals and to submit them to competent authorities, thus allowing the ministry to fulfill its responsibility towards teachers and improve their capab ilities. Teachers are an essential part of the nation’s education system and the quality of this part is rooted in a steadfast commitment to national responsibility and public spirit. I later had the honor of voicing our opinion about these concepts of national education at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. [44] The Teacher Rankings and Early Retirement programs were some of the most important initiatives carried out by the ministry. Some 60% of civic employees work for the Ministry of Education and 80% of the ministry’s funds are allocated to salaries. These percentages presented serious challenges for me and my colleagues in terms of ensuring quality and rationalizing spending, which is why we felt there were major benefits to the programs we proposed. The ministry has also endeavored to increase women’s participation by training female employees to assume leadership positions and put them on equal footing with their male counterparts. For instance, Norah Al Faiz was appointed Depu ty Minister in charge of women’s affairs, becoming the first woman to hold such a senior position in the Kingdom. Several training programs were designed and implemented as well, such as the Saudi-Oxford Education Leadership Program and an education leadership selection project. These programs were instrumental in hiring 45 female education assistants throughout the Kingdom, appointing the ministry’s first un dersecretary for education affairs, and promoting several women to leadership roles. Building a firm but flexible infrastructure at the ministry posed several challenges and required several significant tasks be carried out. The first item on this list was curriculum development, with a special focus on Arabic, science, mathematics, as well as on social and religious subject matters. This entailed modifying and developing methods of teaching, deploying modern technology, connecting classrooms across the Kingdom to the internet and creating a modern classroom environment that provide students with the proper foundation to develop their future interests. The focus here was on technologies that have become essential tools to train students and add value to their studies. A King’s Dream King Abdullah, may his soul rest in peace, had big hopes and dreams for the Ministry of Education, which is why it was an honor for us to participate in the 25th annual Janadriyah Festival. The King also opened the ministry’s exhibition. For this occasion, we held an event called A King’s Dream that brought together three foundational education institutions in Saudi Arabia: Mawhiba, Tatweer, and KAUST. [45] I had the honor of working with Dr Khalid Al Sabti on A King’s Dream initiative. After he was brought on to the Ministry of Education, Al Sabti played a major role in updating and developing Mawhiba, and establishing a collaborative link between Mawhiba-related programs and the ministry. He also
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