New Law: International Schools to Teach Saudi History & Geography

The Saudi Ministry of Education is finalizing a bylaw regulating the functioning of private schools in the Kingdom.

The bylaw stipulates that all private schools that follow a foreign curriculum will teach the history and geography of Saudi Arabia. These schools shall teach Saudi students national identity as a subject in the curriculum, Okaz/Saudi Gazette reported.

The bylaw includes other reforms that are aimed to improve the quality of education and the level of performance and outputs through private schools.

The bylaw includes the following decisions:

• Saudis or foreign investors can apply for a license to run foreign schools but must obtain a commercial registration necessary to practice the activity beforehand and must not have previously faced disciplinary action while serving in a government or private school.
•  Private schools to appoint a principal and qualified educational and administrative staff in accordance with the size of the school and to formulate rules regarding tuition fees and the mechanism for collecting them.
• Teachers in private schools are required to obtain a valid professional license issued by the Saudi Education and Training Evaluation Commission.
• Infringement of the bylaw provisions and rules, offending the religion of Islam, Saudi Arabia, its leaders and public figures, and the breach of intellectual security of society or health and safety requirements are punishable violations.

According to the bylaw, punitive measures will be taken against violators, and will range from fines not exceeding SR500,000, to final closure of school or revocation of its license, and deportation of the school principal or any one of its teachers.