Mawhiba to open four new schools for the gifted

Education Minister Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has announced that special schools for the gifted will open in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam which will gradually be expanded to include all parts of the Kingdom.
The prince made the announcement during the 7th executive committee meeting of Mawhiba (King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity).
He asserted that Mawhiba is based on intellectual, scientific and practical approaches to creativity.
“Mawhiba is a channel of creativity leading to a successful future for all those who participate in it,” the minister said, adding that “creating the future is the mission of creative and innovative individuals.”
He stated that the people of the Kingdom are fortunate to live in the era of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah which is distinguished for its talent and creativity.
“We have the minds, the capabilities and the leadership that will enable us to advance to a knowledge-based society,” he pointed out.
Prince Faisal urged the country and its people to plan for the future and to communicate with all parties involved with the Mawhiba because “talented people will best serve our country in the years to come.”
The executive committee’s meeting discussed several issues of concern and achievements in addition to the mechanisms to follow up the implementation of the strategic plans of the body.
The second strategic plan of Mawhiba will target 510 thousand talented students from 2014-18. This year, the foundation’s initiatives targeted 89 thousand students and 95 thousand students are slated to benefit from the program in 2015.
Some 70, 350 candidates were nominated for the national program of which 14,703 gained acceptance into the program.
About 338 students were nominated for the 2015 talent program and 74 schools entered into partnerships with Mawhiba bringing with them a total number of 2,287 students. Some 243 students have graduated from the program up till now.
Some 132 students participated in international programs outside the Kingdom and those participating in international programs inside the Kingdom amounted to 93 students.
Meanwhile, some 33 students participated in International distance learning programs. In addition, the number of registrations for the National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity increased by 51.5 percent and the number of trainees also increased to 62.5 percent.
Mawhiba acquired 30 medallions this year in a number of international contests in science and mathematics.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Higher Education, the Secretary General for Mawhiba Dr. Khaled Al-Sabti, assistant of Minister of Interior for information technology Dr. Prince Bandar bin Abdullah Al-Mashari, the president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Information Technology Dr. Mohamed Bin Ibrahim Al-Swail and Dr. Khaled Al-Suleiman.