Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council called upon the Ministry of Education (MoE) to reconsider its application of the three-semester system in Saudi universities and technical colleges affiliated to the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).
The council’s demand is aligned in the wake of international trends and best practices in the field of education, and consistent with the independence of universities in accordance with their system of education.
The council appealed during the deliberations of the ministry’s annual report for the fiscal year, in accordance with the Islamic Hijri calendar for 1442/1443 AH, after hearing the viewpoint of the Education and Scientific Research Committee made by the council.
The council requested the ministry to assess the application of the three-semester system in public schools as well, and to appear with recommendations on whether they could continue the system or restore the mid-term system with essential amendments.
Shura council’s demand is aligned in the wake of international trends and best practices in the field of education
The council also propelled the ministry to reconsider the application of the track system to public and secondary schools, in line with international best practices in the public secondary schools.
The Shura emphasized the requirement for offering support to Saudi universities and other relevant establishments to deliver a stimulating environment that ensures that Saudi faculty members do not withdraw, and the faculty facilitates the recruitment of distinguished talent from Saudi nationals and other non-nationals.
A member of the Saudi Shura Council, Dr Aisha Arishi, urged the Ministry of Education to support the financial allocations for operation, conservation and maintenance in order to ensure accelerating an appropriate educational ecosystem in universities and public education schools.
The council asked the Ministry of Education to speed up the process, in harmony with the relevant authorities to identify e-education and training certificates in the fields of distance and blended education. The Shura stated that this blend would be an amalgamation of traditional programs in the classification process.
An additional recommendation made by Muhammad Al-Jarba and Eng. Ibrahim Al-Daghrir, which is centred around the content, observed that the ministry, in coordination with the relevant authorities, should strive to work on building similar models of Madinah’s Taiba Educational City for Special Education in other regions of the Kingdom, according to the competences and requirements of each region. This is crucial to accommodate male and female students who are finding it challenging to integrate into the general education schools.
