Network Learning
The Computer and Information Center (CIC)
The Computer and Information Center (CIC) in the Ministry of Education was established in 1996 to be able to carry forward this mission. The CIC is directly under the supervision of the office of the Minister of Education. Initially, it began by offering basic computing services. Today, it has expanded a great deal in terms of capacity and range of services being offered. Also, the maturity of its processes has seen a steady growth.
The CIC has began the implementation of proven IT Systems Management processes and procedures based on global standards like Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) to improve its functioning and effectiveness back in 2003. The CIC has set up a full-fledged Service Desk which serves as a single point of contact for all users in the Ministry to submit requests for IT related services and to resolve issues faced by them in the use of their computer equipment and software.
Applications Development:
The CIC has designed and developed various software applications to assist in the proper and effective management of the Ministry's financial and human resources. Moreover it has provided access to these applications and their respective databases to all Directorates and Ministry offices spread across the country to enable real-time access to crucial information. Other software applications are in the process of development to cater both to the educational requirements and information needs of various agencies within and outside the Ministry. The CIC is in the process of web-enabling the existing software applications to enable easy and secure access to information for researchers, administrators and other authorized educational staff.
Video Conferencing Project:
From the beginning of, the Computer and Information Centre (CIC) embarked on an ambitious Video Conferencing project whereby all major directorates will be able to interactively participate in virtual meetings with their colleagues and managers. Presently, Video Conferencing facilities have been established between the Minister's office, the Vice Minister for Girls' Education, the offices of various deputy ministers, and Computer and Information Centre (CIC) headquarters. Towards this end, the CIC has initiated a project to implement high-speed Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) connectivity between all its major departments within and outside Riyadh.
WAN Expansion: VSAT and IP-VPN:
To enable unhindered access to all information in its central database, the CIC has already implemented a state-of-the-art wide area network connecting most educational directorates and teachers colleges to the Ministry's Head Office in Riyadh. Incidentally, an expansion of the existing wide area network is in progress to enable linking of the girls' educational directorates and female teachers colleges as well so that they too can benefit from the available management and educational systems. This is in accordance with the ministerial decision which combined general management of Computer and Information Center in boys' education department with the general management of computer and information center in the girls' education department to be merged as one department called Computer and Information Center.
The present WAN which is based on Frame Relay technology is being upgraded incorporating the latest MPLS technology also called IP-VPN.
Portal Project:
Among the major projects on hand is the design and development of a major Web-Portal for the entire Ministry of Education to enable greater collaboration and information sharing.
IT Strategy:
Very recently, the CIC has also prepared a comprehensive and future-proof IT Strategy document. The IT Strategy is the first step towards the eventual migration of the CIC to a state-of-the-art Data Center from its present location. The IT Strategy also takes into account the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's vision to enable its citizens to keep pace with the rest of the developed world in all spheres of life through the design, development and deployment of an E-Learning Infrastructure and related resources.
ICT in Schools:
An exclusive department under the CIC is responsible for implementing Information and Communications Technology(ICT) in schools.
The following are their achievements and their main responsibilities:
• Deployment of IT labs in the Kingdom schools for boys & girls sector:
o More than 3,000 labs for all secondary schools (around 51,000 PCs)
o 2,300 labs for intermediate & elementary schools (around 39,100 PCs)
o More than 2,000 Learning Resources Centers. (around 12,000 PCs)
o Every lab has its own LAN, screen monitoring software.
o Each system is equipped with e-learning nuggets, and other utility software
• Implementing a Wireless LAN pilot project with 3com, hp, Cisco and local partners in selected schools
• Partnering with IT majors for the following:
o Initiatives for teachers training.(30,000 teachers)
o Supporting the software, content and implementation process for E-learning pilot project . o IT consultancy.
o Supporting the network of E-learning pilot project
o Training 6,000 teachers in ICT (for the next 4 years)
o MCSA training for 1,000 IT teachers (in the coming 3 years)
With an average population growth rate of 2.5 percent, Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing nations in the world. Furthermore, over 40 percent of its population is below the age of 20. To minimize the unemployment rate of Saudi nationals, which registered at 9.8 percent in 2008, the Saudi Government must not only ensure the highly qualified Saudi workers and equip them with the relevant skill set to meet the demands of a modern and booming economy. As a result the Saudi Government has accelerated the overhaul of its education system by increasing budgetary allocations for education and manpower development projects, as well as by intensifying the collaboration with international universities, institutions, and major corporations.
In addition to academic and corporate alliances in the Kingdom, the Saudi Government is encouraging the young population to continue to reap the benefits of the U.S. education system. A large number of the 15,000 Saudi students enrolled at campusus across the U.S. are beneficiaries of the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program. Inaugurated in 2005, the scholarship allows Saudi students to acquire degress in scientific specializations from recommended universities worldwide. The 200 budget allocated for the sponsorship of an additional 5,000 students to study abroad in the coming year.
When Saudi Arabia formally became a nation in 1932, education was largely limited to instruction for a select few in Islamic schools. Today, public education—from primary education through high school—is open and free to every citizen. Parents are not, however, required to send their children to school. Statistics from 1996 estimated that only about 61 percent of children attended school.
Education in Saudi Arabia has never fully separated from its Islamic roots. All curriculam must conform to the Islamic Sharia laws and the Qur'an, and traditional gender roles continue to shape educational opportunities available to females.
The education system in Saudi Arabia, is primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education and the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training. Other authorities such as the Ministry of Defense and Aviation; the Presidency of the National Guard; and the Ministry of the Interior provide their affiliates and children with kindergarten, elementary, intermediate, secondary and adult education as well, following the educational ladder, study plans and curricula formulated by the Ministry of Education. The highest authority that supervises education in Saudi Arabia is the Supreme Committee for Educational Policy, established in 1963. According to the World Bank database, public spending on education is 6.8 percent of GDP, and public spending on education as percentage of government expenditure is 27.6 percent in 2004. (World Development Indicator/Edstats) Education spending as a proportion of overall spending tripled from 1970 to 2000 and neither economic growth nor the price of oil had much impact on this trend in Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Education developed “The Ministry of Education Ten – Year Plan 1425–1435 (2004–2014)” which set the following goals for that ten year period:
1. The education of 4-6-year-old children and the consideration of kindergarten as an independent stage in terms of its buildings and syllabi from other education stage
2. Accommodation of all age categories from 6–18 years-old at various stages of education
3. Deepening the spirit of loyalty and proud of the country through intellectual awareness based on recognizing issues of the country
4. To prepare students academically, and culturally at a local and international level to be able to achieve advanced posts internationally in the fields of mathematics and sciences for the various age categories, taking into account International tests’ standards
5. To organize girls’ technical education
6. To develop the educational system for students with special needs
7. Development and growth of the Ministry’s personnel educational and administrative training
8. Improvement of internal and external sufficiency for the educational system
9. To develop syllabi based on Islamic values leading to the development of male and female students’ personality and to their integration in society as well as to the achievement of scientific and thinking skills and life characteristics resulting in self education and lifelong learning
10. To improve the quality of male and female teachers and to increase the citizens’ rate in the education sector to achieve the full use of Saudi human resources
11. To develop the educational structure and to update the school map to meet the expected quantitative and qualitative changes in the next stage
12. To develop the infrastructure of information and communication technology and its employment in education and learning
13. To develop male and female adults’ education and to eradicate illiteracy
14. The Ministry’s comprehensive administrative development
15. Expansion of social participation in education
16. To establish integrated systems for accountability.
Girls’ education:
The General Administration of Girls’ Education was established independently from Ministry of Education in 1960 and was put under the administration of the ministry in 2002.
The percentage of women receiving an education has increased since the 1960s. However, it is still restricted for women to take some subjects such as engineering, journalism, and architecture. In Saudi Arabia, women in the labor force are mainly in the education sector. (World Bank 2005) The first group of women graduated from law program in 2008. Women are still not able to practice law, but the government has indicated that they are able to work in courts to assist female clients. This has still not happened. According to the World Bank report, in higher education, female students much outnumber male students in Saudi Arabia as well as Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and West Bank and Gaza. Because government has much paid attention to girls’ education, the number of girls’ schools increased faster than boys’ schools. According to World Bank, gross enrollment rate for female is 36.1 percent, gross enrollment rate for male is 24.7 percent, and gross enrollment rate for total is 30.2 percent in 2006.There are thousands of female professors throughout Saudi Arabia, which reflect the high general level of female education in the country.
Recently, an expert on girls’ education became the first woman minister in Saudi Arabia. Nora bint Abdullah al-Fayez, a US-educated former teacher, was made deputy education minister who are in charge of a new department for female students. In addition, Saudi Arabia provides female students with scholarship programs, which is one of the world’s largest scholarship programs for women. By this program, thousands of women have earned doctorates from Western universities.
The shortage of public and private universities for women has caused a large number of young single women to stay at home, particularly as work opportunities remain limited. The building of colleges and universities for women, which was recently announced by the government, is critically important.