According to the study by the management consulting firm, the Saudi Government has prioritised providing free education to all citizens without any discrimination, making education compulsory for children between the ages of six and 15.
The study says according to the latest Unesco 2008 projections, Saudi Arabia is moving towards the goal of achieving universal primary education. Results indicate that net enrolment in primary education had increased significantly to 93 per cent in 2007. The percentage of students who started grade one and reached grade five also increased, from 74.5 per cent in 1990 to 98.2 per cent in 2007. The emphasis by the government on providing universal education has led to an increase in the allocation for education and human resource development, from SR47bn in 2002 to SR122bn in 2009.
Gender equality
The study states that the Saudi Government has also made considerable efforts to promote gender equality and to ensure girls receive equal access to basic education. In September 2000, it signed and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), with some reservations. National results also indicate there has been considerable progress in achieving gender equality among students; the number of female students at all school levels increased from 270,000 in 1974-75 to more than two million in 2004-05. The government's commitment to girls' education is also demonstrated by the financial assistance granted to female students, and the incentives in the form of allowances offered to women throughout their years of study.
Currently, more than 38 higher education institutes exist for women in the country alongside eight universities under the patronage of the Ministry of Education and women represent more than 58 per cent of the total number of Saudi university students. The number of female students seeking a bachelor's degree more than tripled between 1995-96 and 2005-06 to more than 340,000. In addition, the number of vocational institutes for women reached 27 in 2004-05, with approximately 10 private colleges and universities for women spread throughout major cities in the kingdom, says the study.
However, despite all this, lingering social norms, traditions and the public education system have been constraints on women's realisation of equal opportunities, it says.
Talking to Emirates Business, Mona Al Munajjed, Senior Advisor, Booz & Company, says: "Until now education for girls in Saudi Arabia has been based on traditional ways of learning. The curriculum focuses on religious studies and the study of Arabic. The curriculum has not been revised for the last 20 years. There is a need to introduce a curriculum that is more in touch with the changes in the Saudi society and provides girls with skills for jobs later in life."
Different approaches
The report states that the public education system treats males and females differently due to the gender-based expectations of society. This has led to a limited range of fields for female students in schools, universities, and colleges.
At the university level, the fields of education and training for women are limited, as the specialisations do not correspond to the needs of the labour market. Science and technology and engineering and agriculture remain predominantly male territory. This limits Saudi women's potential for progress in an age that is increasingly oriented towards scientific and technological advancement.
Al Munajjed says: "For girls we need more focus on maths, science, foreign languages. Even though English is taught in schools, the time allotted to it is not enough. Also the girls need to be educated in ICT, and the use of computers should be at all levels of school education. Arts, accounting, administrative and business studies should be included in the curriculum as well.
"Sports does not exist in girls schools. It is very important to include physical education for girls as it is necessary for their health and development. Because girls have no physical activity, obesity and osteoporosis are major concerns. Boys are taught all these subjects, but not girls.
"At the university level, women's degrees are concentrated on education and teaching, human sciences, natural sciences and Islamic studies. Of all female university graduates in 2007, 93 per cent had degrees in education and teaching or human sciences."
The study says Saudi academics and professionals have raised concerns regarding the system of public education; and have questioned the performance of Ministry of Education during the past years, specifically regarding curricula and programmes, which do not meet students' needs or expectations.
Low scores
A recent World Bank study, which looked at education systems in the Middle East and North Africa, found that Saudi Arabia scored low in pedagogy, structure of education, flow of students and resource mobilisation.
Al Munajjed says: "We need a new methodology and learning-based education that will not rely on repetition and memorising. The education system should promote creative and analytical thinking, teamwork, and personality development in girls and teach them how to evaluate situations. We need a new education system that goes along with the new global society and its needs."
According to the study, the other challenges facing the Saudi public education system are lack of adequate teacher training. Girls' education also suffers from a shortage of well-qualified teachers, despite the fact that the total number of female teachers in the public education system had increased to more than 200,000 in 2005-'06. Saudi academics have expressed their concerns to the Ministry of Education about the performance of teachers and the need to formulate new programmes for teaching.
The study says there is a disconnect with the country's social and economic priorities. Thousands of Saudi women graduate each year from universities but are not effectively utilised; a problem related to job availability and restrictions on work opportunities.
However, according to Al Munajjed, the author of the study, all is not gloom and doom and there have been some improvements with regard to women's education.
Al Munajjed says: "The rate of Saudi women's participation in the labour force was 14.4 per cent in 2007, which is an improvement from 5.5 per cent in 1992. Things are improving."
Giving a breakdown on the areas where women in Saudi Arabia are employed, Al Munajjed says: "A total of 85 per cent of the women are in the field of teaching, six per cent in the health sector, four per cent in the public sector and five per cent in the private sector. There are quite a few businesswomen in Saudi Arabia and nearly 40 per cent of the wealth there is in the hands of women. But still a lot more needs to be done."
Serious efforts
According to the study it is clear that the Saudi Government is serious about improving the quality of girls' education and has started to implement a new reform policy as well as instituting a series of initiatives.
The King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Project for General Education Development, Tatwir, is a new measure, launched to introduce changes to the education system to help students achieve knowledge and expertise. The project aims to train more than 400,000 teachers in school management, educational supervision, curriculum development, computer science, training, and self-development skills; and to apply modern technology in the educational process.
The Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University for women is designed to become one of the largest centres of higher education for Saudi women, offering them new educational opportunities to enter the labour market, and will include an academic area of 15 diverse subject colleges. It will also include a housing area for staff and students with public facilities, with a capacity for 40,000 female students by 2010.
However, Al Munajjed says despite all these efforts on the part of the government, if the Saudi society is to face the challenges of globalisation then it needs to reform the education system for girls.
"The need of the hour is a national strategy for Saudi women that will promote women's education and employment needs," she said. "If we have a strong system of education then the women of Saudi Arabia will be able to participate in the labour force and this in turn will help the country to move ahead at a faster pace. Also, the reformation must begin at home. Parents must teach their children that it is important for girls to study and work. This is the way forward."
Actions required at government level
- Enforce a minimum age of 18 years for marriage for both men and women
- Establish a national commission for women's social affairs to participate in high-level decision-making
- Implement a national educational strategy for girls and women that takes into consideration women's social and economic needs
- Revise, evaluate and reform women's curricula for all phases of education; it should emphasise foreign languages, mathematics, science, health, computer science, information technology and programmes for physical and national education, community services and environmental education
- Replace traditional methods of girls' teaching such as rote learning and memorisation with good learning techniques and skills
- Recruit and evaluate qualitative teachers on the basis of competence and skills
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