The Council of Ministers approved the executive and regulatory provisions of the public education system up to the end of twelfth grade, for which a royal decree was issued today (Friday), as part of enhancing the governance framework of public education, providing the necessary enablers to achieve its targets, enabling it to improve the quality of the educational environment and its outputs, in addition to regulating the role of the private and non-profit sectors in line with the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.

General Education Affairs Council

The system, published in Umm Al-Qura today (Friday), stipulates the establishment of a council for general education affairs chaired by the minister, with membership of representatives from the ministries of: Education, Economy and Planning, Human Resources and Social Development, Finance, Culture, Sports, Investment, and Health, in addition to the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, and representatives of the private sector.

The council makes decisions on plans, policies and strategies, determines the age of admission in early childhood and general education stages, proposes amendments to the boundaries of compulsory years for admission, approves terms and controls for contracting with teachers and qualifying them to teach subjects outside their specialties, and regulations governing virtual and private educational institutions, specialized centers, and educational and pedagogical consulting professions, and approves controls regulating the acceptance of donations and subsidies by private educational institutions, and the controls and conditions for the ministry to provide financial or in-kind support or human resources to private educational institutions.

The General Education Council also approves regulations governing the affairs of students with disabilities and gifted students, regulations governing the nursery and kindergarten stages, approving a unified model for work contracts for teachers in government educational institutions, amending the early childhood age limit, submitting the academic calendar to the Council of Ministers and recommending its approval after it is prepared by the ministry, approving any other regulations arising in the field of general education, setting controls for the non-application of provisions that achieve its targets to private educational institutions or some of them and submitting them to complete necessary procedures in this regard, and approving controls governing the occupancy and operation of buildings in educational institutions.

Stages and Requirements of the Educational Process

The system includes nursery, kindergarten, grades one through twelve, early childhood, e-learning, and continuing education, which is free in government educational institutions. Compulsory education begins from the age of six until fifteen. The ministry takes legal action against anyone who causes a child to be deprived of general education during the compulsory years or causes them to drop out. Arabic is the primary language, and instruction in an additional language is permitted. Girls' schools beyond the early childhood stage are separate from boys' schools, and this does not apply to private educational institutions.

The system stipulates that education be in-person in all stages of general education, and the ministry may benefit from educational technologies as part of in-person education. It provides appropriate programs and means for continuous learning, such as electronic means, enrollment programs, and neighborhood centers. The ministry sets controls for issuing and accrediting certificates for learners in lifelong learning programs. The ministry coordinates with relevant authorities to develop and activate synchronous, asynchronous, and self-directed e-learning patterns appropriate for those programs, provides continuous learning opportunities, and sets necessary procedures and controls. It collaborates with the Education and Training Evaluation Commission and the National Curriculum Center in preparing the national framework for general education curricula. It also approves international educational programs in private educational institutions and supervises the implementation of their requirements and conditions. In coordination with the center, it provides textbooks free of charge to educational institutions implementing the government curriculum.

Controls for Education Pathways and Educational Directorates

The ministry organizes educational directorates and offices in regions and governorates, defines their roles, tasks, work controls, and performance evaluation mechanism. By a decision of the minister, some of the ministry's powers may be delegated to educational directorates. The ministry also has the authority to create, merge, separate, or abolish any educational directorates or offices. The ministry may form educational committees or advisory councils and determine their affiliation, competencies, and rules of work. It also establishes school funds in government schools and educational directorates, and sets necessary rules and controls to regulate their work in coordination with the Ministry of Finance. It organizes the mechanism for providing public education abroad for Saudi students and the children of delegates, employees, and scholarship recipients, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It works to spread a culture of volunteer work among students, teachers, and parents, and sets necessary controls in this regard.

The ministry also sets education pathways in general education stages, determines educational plans for them, sets controls for student transition between pathways, and between them and technical and vocational specializations under other authorities. It establishes vocational or specialized educational pathways to suit labor market needs, and introduces programs for early detection of developmental or behavioral disorders, taking necessary actions for each case considering their health, social, and educational needs. It takes necessary measures to integrate students with disabilities into educational institutions, provides them with appropriate educational tools, and assesses them using methods that take into account their characteristics, needs, and abilities, while working to provide assistive and adaptive technologies to facilitate the learning process.

It also works to provide specialized educational programs and centers for students with disabilities who cannot be integrated into educational institutions, while developing digital and distance education programs for this category to ensure the continuity of their education under different circumstances. It prepares necessary programs for identifying, caring for, and developing gifted students, and undertakes what is required, including setting special educational programs in classrooms or dedicated schools for them, in addition to establishing enrichment educational and scientific centers for them. This includes developing clear criteria to identify this category, training teachers, and enhancing partnerships for this purpose with universities and research centers. It sets controls for accelerating the transition of outstanding students from one stage to a higher stage, and the necessary requirements for that. This includes developing clear criteria to identify students eligible for transition, establishing comprehensive evaluation procedures, training teachers on that, and enhancing coordination with parents.