Chart number (13)

Evolution of the public expenditures on primary education

For the years 1410-1418h. (1990-1998)

Indicators number [9] and [10]

Percentage of primary school teachers with required qualifications and percentage of primary school teachers authorized in accordance with the national criteria.

All schoolteachers in Saoudi Arabia have the necessary qualifications. These qualifications witnessed many developments along with the development of education in the country. The criteria applied now are certainly more advanced than those that were applied twenty years ago. Most of the teachers enrolling in teaching for 1998 have university educational qualifications and few of them have the intermediate faculty diploma (two years after the secondary).

Saoudi Arabia has followed a long-term plan for retraining teachers on education. In addition to the educational programs, the educational supervision unit at the Ministry of Education and the general Presidency for Girls’ Education have undertaken strong efforts in the fields of teachers’ performance assessment and development.

It is worth noting that there are no voluntary teachers in the governmental or non-governmental schools in Saoudi Arabia. All teachers are designated officially as teachers and this is part of the commitment by the Government to fully finance the governmental education and provide assistance to the private education sector.

As for authorization, there are no regulations for it in Saoudi Arabia, as in some other countries. However, there are qualifications and conditions that are required and they develop with the need for teachers and the availability of qualified teachers. Saoudi Arabia is seeking to set legal exams for the teachers who wish to enroll in education. They are expected to be ready within the next two years. They would constitute the basis for the authorizations regulations in the coming years.

Chart number 14 reveals the evolution of the numbers of teachers in primary education for the years 1990 to 1999. The data indicate a 57% growth in the total number of teachers in that same period. The female teachers growth was also quick; it reached 75% against 46% for male teachers.

Chart number [14]

Evolution of the number of male and female teachers in primary education

For the years 1990-1999

Indicator number [11]

Pupil/Teacher Ratio:

Chart number [15] shows the Pupil/Teacher Ratio in primary education for the years 1990-1998.

Chart number [15]

Pupil/Teacher Ratios for 1990-1998

The data indicate the following:

1. The PTR in primary education decreased from 19 pupils per teacher in 1990 to 12 pupils per teacher in 1998. This is s development in the quality of primary education because this allows the teacher to provide individualistic teaching that takes into consideration the differences between students. This also improves their capacity to acquire necessary skills, science and knowledge for their potentials as well as their mental, physical and reflex growth.
2. The PTR in private schools is inferior to that of public schools; it was 13 pupils per teacher in 1990 against 16 for the public schools and 10 pupils per teacher in 1998 against 12 for public schools. The gap between private education and public education was considerably reduced during the last years, which reflects low PTRs for the governmental education. If the PTRs in Saoudi Arabia decreased during the last years, it is because the Government sought to provide education opportunities to all social categories notwithstanding the geographic distance or population specificities. Schools with limited pupil-capacity were established in the remote areas. It is true that this type of education is expensive, however, education is a top priority for the Government that supported this type of schools.
3. The chart also reveals that the number of male and female teachers increased in general from 112.207 in 1990 to 179.194 in 1998 with a 57% increase in around ten years. This increase indicates that the Government is interested in recruiting qualified teachers in order to meet the sustainable growth in the number of pupils in primary education.

Indicator number [12]

Repetition rates:

The indicator number [12] shows the repetition rates in primary education by grades for the years 1990 and 1998 and chart number [16] displays these rates.

Chart number [16]

Repetition rates in primary education by grades

For 1990 and 1998

Data in the chart indicate that the repetition rates during that period have improved considerably in all grades and for both genders. This improvement can be summarized as follows:

• First grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 13.7% to 7.8% with a 6 point improvement; improvement for males was about 6.2 points while females recorded a 5.4 point improvement.
• Second grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 7.9% to 4.9 % with a 3-point improvement; improvement for males was 2.5 points and 3.2 for females.
• Third grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 8.4% to 6.6 % with a 1.8 point improvement; improvement for males was about 1.9 points and 1.4 for females.
• Fourth grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 12.9% to 7.4 % with a 5.5 point improvement; improvement for males was about 6.2 points and 4.2 points for females.
• Fifth grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 13.5% to 7.7% with a 5.8 point improvement; improvement for males was about 6.9 points and 4 points for females.
• Sixth grade: the repetition rate for both males and females decreased from 6.3 % to 2.8% with a 3.5 point improvement; improvement for males was about 3.6 points and 2 points for females.

In general, we notice a big improvement in the repetition rate for the first five grades; it decreased from 11.3 in 1990 to 6.9 in 1998 for both genders.

Indicators number [13] and [14]

Survival rate to the fifth grade and sufficiency rate:

The decrease in the repetition rates led to a positive improvement in the survival rates then to an increase in the sufficiency rates as it is clear in the chart number 17.

Chart number [17]

Survival rate to the fifth grade and coefficient of efficiency

* until fifth grade

** until fifth grade

*** in primary education

Data of chart number [17] show the following:

• the survival rate to the fifth primary grade for both genders reached in 1998 96.3% with 97% for males and 95.7% for females. The 1998 rates indicate an improvement in the survival rates;
• the coefficient of efficiency to the fifth grade witnessed a considerable improvement for the period 1990-1998 of 7.3% for both genders;
• the three indicators in the chart show that there is no big difference between the gender in survival rate and the coefficient of efficiency in primary education.

This improvement in the repetition rates then in the survival rate and the coefficient of efficiency could not have been possible had not strong efforts been undertaken for the improvement of the curricula, the education quality and the spreading of education as well as the solution to the drop-out problem especially in the early stage. It is worth noting that the Kingdom adopted this year new regulations for students’ assessment that aimed at reducing the terror of exams by reducing their number and dealing with the dropout problem in one or two courses. These regulations adopted a new assessment for the pupils of the first three grades based on acquired skills and basic knowledge. These regulations will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the promotion rates and a decrease in the repetition and dropout rates. The sufficiency indicators are expected to increase considerably during the next few years.

Indicator number [15]

Percentage of pupils of the primary fourth grade at least and having a nationally agreed deal of basic education capacities.

This indicator supposes that there are capacity exams applied at the national level and aiming at verifying the pupil’s education capacity. These exams are being developed and are expected to finish in the next two years. For the time being, students who are transferred to the fourth primary grade are being assessed in this field through their school results and teachers’ appreciation. No fourth primary grade student has not met the third primary grade requirements. The third primary grade pupils who have not acquired the specific knowledge and skills in reading and writing should repeat the grade in accordance with the current regulations.

Indicators [16] [17] and [18]

Data in chart number 18 indicate that the literacy rate in 1993 for adults (above 15 years of age and males and females) was 72.9% of the total number of the population of the same category with 84% for males and 61.7% for females.

The 1999 data show that these rates improved considerably and reached 80.5% while the male adult category literacy rate reached 90.9% of the male population (above 15) with a 7 point growth since 1993. The data also reveal that females witnessed a growth in adult literacy rate (+15) of 70.2% with a 9-point growth since 1993.

This obvious growth in the literacy rates that required intensive efforts is stressed by the interest given by the Government to the literacy efforts. These efforts have already been mentioned in Part II. Efforts are still being undertaken to improve these rates even more, which is a priority in the educational project of the Government. The State of Saoudi Arabia targets a literacy rate of 98% of the 15 years age category during the seventh development plan (2000 – 2005). The gender literacy equality indicator has increased from 0.7 in 1993 to 0.8 in 1999. This shows that the literacy efforts and programs in the Kingdom have targeted all social categories and that the incentives provided for encouraging female adults to enroll in literacy schools and programs were successful.

Chart number (18)

Evolution of the literacy rate for the age category 15 years and above

Overview of the indicators results:

The educational indicators that were shown in this part of the report reveal that many educational achievements took place namely in Education For All and related programs that were addressed to all social categories of both genders. The gender equality indicator is the best example of this improvement; it developed considerably between 1990 and 1999. This is in accordance with the international reports that concluded that Saoudi Arabia is one of the countries that could best reduce the gap between male education and female education.

These indicators also show that the educational plans established by the State to develop the EFA programs were supported by the necessary resources. This is clearly revealed in the big budgets consecrated to education and all related programs as well as the development of these budgets in the last ten years.