The general guidelines set by the International Consultative Forum on Education for All determined 18 indicators that can be used to describe or measure the main components of basic education. Here is a description of the results of these indicators as it is shown in the education statistics in Saoudi Arabia.

Indicator number [1]

General enrollment in the early childhood development programs:

The chart number 9 that includes data about enrollment in early childhood programs for the year 1410-1411h. (1990) Reveals the following:

• Data show that the persons enrolled in the early childhood development programs represents 3.7% of the total number of 3 to 5-year old children. Enrollment rates for males and females are close: 3.8% for boys and 3.5% for girls. This percentage is the beginning of the true interest in this stage. The Kingdom wants these programs to be implemented in environments with rich expertise and this requires high-quality equipment. The Kingdom also wants the programs to be implemented in classrooms, playgrounds and activity places that are in harmony with the modern concept of children’s education.
• Data related to the year 1419-1420h. (1999) indicate an obvious growth in the General Enrollment Rates in the early childhood development programs. The GER in these programs reached 8.6% of the total number of 3 to 5-year-old children with a difference of 4.9 points and an increase of around 81% in comparison with 1990. For the same age category, the enrollment rate was 9.3% for males and 7.9% for females and with a difference of 1.4%. Efforts are currently undertaken to improve the enrollment rates; the educational plans aim at providing every child with the opportunity to enroll primary education after adequate preparation through the childhood development programs.

Chart number [9]

Evolution of the General Enrollment in the early childhood programs*

For the years 1410-1411h. and 1419-1420h. (1990-1999)

*Saoudis only (3 to 5)

programs presented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs within the framework of social care programs

Indicator number [2]

Percentage of students enrolled in first primary grade and who participated in one of the programs for early childhood development:

The data in chart number 10 about new entrants for the year 1990 show the following:

• All the newly enrolled in first primary grade are 301743 students, 162639 are boys with 11% enrolled in early childhood development programs while the girls are 139107, 10.2% of them enrolled these programs.
• The data of chart number 10 concerning the year 1999 indicate an increase in the early childhood development programs enrollment rate. The number of enrolled increased during the 1990-1999 decade by 120%.
• The newly enrolled in primary education and who have some experience in early childhood development programs represented in 1999 21.4% of the total number of new entrants which constitutes the double of the 1990 rate (10.7%).
• The data in the chart indicate a growth in the capacity of the non-governmental sector during the 1990-1999 period to contribute to the early childhood development programs. It is a trend that is supported by the State that is working on activating the role of the non-governmental sector in education in general and in early childhood stages in particular.
• Data also reveal that the gender equality indicator reached in 1991 0.8% and it is a true indication to the very straight gap between girls and boys in terms of enrollment.

Chart number [10]

Percentage of newly enrolled in first primary grade

And who participated in the early childhood development programs

For the years 1410-1411h. and 1419-1420h. (1990-1999)

Indicators number [3] and [4]

General and Net Enrollment Rate in primary education

General enrollment rate:

Data in chart number 11 about 1419-1420h. (1990) indicate that the Apparent Enrollment Rate is 97% of the total number of enrolled, males and females, while AER for boys reached 101.3% and 92.4% for girls. The increase in the enrollment rates in 1990 was due to dynamic enrollment policies through spreading schools and the educational service attaining all residential areas in the Kingdom.

Net enrollment rate:

The chart number 11 contains data for the year 1999. They indicate an improvement in the NER for girls from 71.4% in 1990 to 75.2% now. This reveals the increase in the number of six-year-old girls enrolling in primary education. This improvement is an assertion of the efforts undertaken in this field especially by the State.

The data about the year 1999 indicate that the NER in the non governmental sector are of 95.5% of the total number of enrolled in comparison with 81.7% in the governmental educational institutions. For males, the rate was 93.5% in the non-governmental sector and 83% in the governmental education, while the rate was the same in both sectors for females (80.1% and 81.1%).

Gender Equality Indicator:

The chart shows that the gender equality indicator for the years 1419-1420h. (1998-1999) reached 0.9 in comparison with 0.8 in 1410-1411h. (1990). This high rate confirms that the efforts undertaken in the childhood care programs are equally distributed to males and females and also shows that the gap between males’ education and females’ education has narrowed considerably. The gender equality indicator is expected to narrow down even more in the coming years.

Data in the chart indicate that the newly enrolled of all ages represent 7% in the non-governmental sector and 93% for the governmental sector. This is a confirmation of the State’s commitment to provide free education that is available for all social categories and to support the efforts of the non governmental sector as a way to improve competition between the two sectors for a better education quality.

Chart number [11]

Evolution of the apparent and net enrollment rates in primary education

For the years 1410-1411h. and 1419-1420h. (1990-1999)