Riyadh - SPA

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved a five-year plan worth more
than SR80 billion to overhaul the Kingdom’s education system.
The plan includes building 1,500 nursery schools, training about 25,000 teachers, and
establishing educational centers and other related projects, said Education Minister
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Monday.
He said the SR80 billion was an additional allocation to the country's education
budget. King Abdullah has also approved an action plan for a public education
development project named after him. “The project emanates from King Abdullah’s vision.”
Prince Khaled said the King Abdullah project would bring about qualitative improvement
in education, to benefit present and future generations. “It will improve the
performance of teachers and the educational standard of children,” he said.
The action plan covers provision of education through private sector, linking schools
with a broadband Internet system, smart classrooms, computer systems for e-education
needs, setting up specialized schools, support for clubs, construction of new buildings,
renovation and maintenance of existing schools, and enhancing safety systems.
“The king has also agreed to set up an endowment to support public education,” the
prince said. This would enable the ministry to have an independent financial resources to
cover additional expenses, thus easing pressure on the national budget, he said.