LEARNING CURVEBALLS
t is difficult to conduct research on the Saudi education sector. Saudi Arabia is a big country, with many schools, so travelling is a must. More than that, however, is the pace and frequency at which the Ministry of Education adopts new policy paths, complicating the process of trying to figure out what impact they have.
This year was no different, with a new minister appointed in early January 2019. A new head of the Education and Training Commission implies a new shift in Saudi Arabia’s strategic shift on providing education. There are age-old challenges, including lack of higher-education institutions, big disparities in quality between these institutions, and a gap in employee demand and graduate skills. But a new challenge is finding how the Kingdom fits in the system of international educational accreditations and rankings.
Indeed, a large number of educational institutions and universities TBY interviewed described that the hardest task as keeping up with and competing on a global stage, which demands making adjustments to their course offerings. Interviewees stressed how assessments need to be institutionalized to ensure they meet key performance indicators on a regular basis. The entire academic culture needs to be overhauled, sometimes, to meet internal goals and keep up with competition.
Across our conversations, flexibility and academic culture came up as the key assets to maintain high standards. It is therefore no surprise that
Iboth small, new ventures in the education sphere, which consider flexibility their core strength, and old, large universities with an established academic culture, are faring better than middle-sized schools.
Moreover, we also noticed a strong change in attitude when discussing vocational training. A few years ago, the educational sector was headed in the direction of centers of excellence, with a strong focus on vocational training for Saudis to take over manual jobs. Today, the whole concept of vocational training is being revisited, as Saudis struggle to accept taking jobs they considered lower-rank, jobs that had before been held by foreign workers. Now, a compromise between living off of boundless, oil-backed state subsidy and enduring the Kafkaesque drudgery of working for money seems to be cycling through academia and entrepreneurship.
Last but not least, the education sector needs extensive investments both to enhance the research aspect and in the technology sphere. Rather than distance learning, leaders believe blended learning could be the way forward. Blended learning means students have the physical presence of an instructor but also online support. Another key area set to impact the education sector is advancements in AI, which lets teachers track the engagement of students, even by using facial recognition algorithms. Saudi students should learn new skills that help them better cope with the rise of the machines. ✖