Ministry of Education (Saudi Arabia)

The Ministry of Education (MoE) (Arabic: وزارة التعليم), before 2003 as the Ministry of Knowledge and until 1953 as the Directorate of Knowledge, is a government ministry in Saudi Arabia that is responsible for regulating primary, secondary and higher education in the country. It was established in 1926 by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud in the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz. Since the amalgamations of the General Presidency for Girls' Education (GPGE) in 2002 and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in 2015, it became the sole body which supervises all schools, universities and colleges in the country.

Ministry of Education
وزارة التعليم
Seal of the Saudi Ministry of Education

Yousef al-Benyan, current Minister of Education since 2022
Government body overview
Formed1926 (1926) as Directorate of Knowledge
Preceding agencies
  • Directorate of Knowledge (1926–1953)
  • Ministry of Knowledge (1953–2003)
JurisdictionGovernment of Saudi Arabia
HeadquartersAirport Road, Riyadh 11148, Saudi Arabia[1]
Government body executive
  • Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Minister of Education
WebsiteOfficial English Site

History

In 1926, Sultan of Nejd Abdulaziz Ibn Saud annexed Kingdom of Hejaz and dissolved the government of Hijaz as well as the Sultanate of Nejd and established the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz with running a dual monarchy. King Abdul established the Council for Knowledge which focused on education in Hejaz region.[2] He appointed Salih ibn Bakri Shata to head the council.[3] Then Kamil Al Qassab was made the head of the education directorate.[3] The directorate was also headed by the following until 1953: Majid Kurdi, Hafiz Wahba, Muhammad Amin Fuda and Ibrahim Al Shura.[3]

The Ministry of Education building in Riyadh

In 1953 King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud established and merged the Directorate of Knowledge to Ministry of Knowledge and appointed Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as the minister on 24 December 1953.[4] In 1960, Crown Prince Faisal established General Presidency for Girls' Education. In 2002, King Fahd issued a royal decree which merged General Presidency for Girls' Education with the Ministry of Knowledge. It was renamed as Ministry of Education on May 1, 2003.[5][6]

Special Education/Al Noor Institute for the Blind Riyadh

As far back as 1958, Special Education for students with visual and hearing disabilities had been in existence Saudi Arabia as fostered by the Special Education Unit of Education Ministry A formal step was taken by the government in 1960 when Riyadh's Al Noor Institute for the Blind was set-up and subsequently followed by Al Noor Blind Institute of Makkah in 1962 and then others in various regions in the country- https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/525529. The curriculum is identical with that of general education except where instruction was adapted to meet the needs of students with visual/hearing impairment who use Braille Method and similar systems to teach prescribed subjects.

In February 2021, Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Othman has been appointed as undersecretary for private universities at the Ministry.[7]

List of ministers
Stand of the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia at the Paris Book Festival in 2015.

Achievements

In September 2018, the Ministry of Education and Arizona State University partnered with each other in order to launch Building Leadership for Change Through School Immersion program which would commence from February 2019.

References
  1. "Ministry Addresses Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Washington, DC. Retrieved 5 November 2015. "Ministry of Education Airport Road, Riyadh 11148 "
  2. William Ochsenwald (2019). "The Transformation of Education in the Hijaz, 1925–1945". Arabian Humanities. 12. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. Michael Farquhar (November 2013). "Expanding the Wahhabi Mission: Saudi Arabia, the Islamic University of Medina and the Transnational Religious Economy" (PDF). The London School of Economics and Political Science.
  4. "Educational system in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Ministry of Higher Education. 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  5. "Al-jazirah". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  6. "السعودية: هيكلة وزارية جديدة تشمل إلغاء وزارتين وتغيير مسميات ودمج أخرى, أخبــــــار". archive.aawsat.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  7. "Who's Who: Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Othman, undersecretary for private universities at the Ministry of Education". Arab News. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-22.


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