Saudi Arabia's reforms of its educational system aim at enhancing Islamic values of the youngsters, promoting moderation and strengthening the concepts of flexibility and respect for the opinions of others, says Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General.
In an exclusive interview with the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Prince Sultan said Saudi Arabia's reforms of its educational system aim at enhancing Islamic values, ethics and the behavior of the youngsters; and promoting moderation through teaching the correct concepts, including the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet's Sunnah (deeds and sayings).
"The review would also strengthen the concepts of flexibility, openness to dialogue and respect for the opinions of others while maintaining religious subjects, which are the bases of our educational system,", he told SPA. He said the reforms were also triggered by the needs of the labor market, particularly contemporary requirement for scientific qualifications.
Prince Sultan said the reforms were carried out on the initiative of the Government, not in response to outside pressure. The reforms put greater emphasis on the need to give scientific training to Saudi Students. "This will provide employment opportunities for our sons and daughters when they receive the necessary qualifications for a job which suits them, whether in the public or private sector", he said. He said the review was an endless process and would continue for as long as Saudi Arabia remains an influential and integral part of today’s world.
The educational reform process is supervised by a high-level committee, consisting of academics and experts, Prince Sultan said, adding that the committee, which sought the help of several experts and had formed a number of sub-committees, has already completed the required study and forwarded its recommendations to a decision-making level for the benefit of the national educational process. Prince Sultan said the review was carried out by members of the Shoura (consultative) Council, several ministers and the Head of the Affairs of the two grand mosques in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Members of the Committee, ordered by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, and chaired by Prince Sultan himself, include the following:
- Sheikh Dr. Salih bin Abdullah bin Homaid, the Chairman of the Shoura Council
- Sheikh Salih bin Abdulrahman Alhossain, General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque
- Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alturki, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League
- Dr. Ghazi bin Abdulrahman Algosaibi, the Minister of Water and Electricity
- Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Alanqari, the Minister of Higher Education
- Dr. Mohammed bin Ahmed Alrasheed, the Minister of Education
- Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Almutlaq, member of the Senior Scholars Commission
- Dr. Salih bin Saud Al'ali, member of the Shoura Council
- Dr. Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz Banaja, Staff member of King Abdulaziz University
- Dr. Saad bin Abdullah Albarrak, Staff Member of the Teachers College.
Asked by the interviewer about the timetable of this work, Prince Sultan said there is no timetable to finish an endless mission. "There are short and long term plans for the non-stop mission of the committee", he said.
In conclusion, he said that contemporary life requires that we become a model of the Islamic world and that we undertake the mission of our religion, mainly reflected in tolerance, dialogue, respect of the other party's opinion, denial of extremism and confirmation of moderation.
Source: SPA
