35% of schools run in rented buildings

The Ministry of Education has received 7,000 applications for new school buildings in the past five years following the ministry’s efforts to reduce the number of schools being run on rented premises. An official said that 35 percent of schools are run in rented buildings, with Jazan topping the list. Around 54 percent of the schools are housed in rented properties in the province.
Rahshid Al-Ghayad, secretary-general of Education Directorates, said the ministry’s objective was to replace rented properties with government buildings.
The ministry received proposals for 500 new school buildings and disposed of 700 rented buildings at the beginning of the new academic year across the Kingdom.
The enrolment of 40,000 children in the first grade was stalled at the beginning of last week because they had not completed their admission documents. However, this number has now come down to only two percent, as committees formed under Education Directorates have since completed documentation, Al-Ghayad told Al-Eqtisadiah daily.
He said that the responsibility of arranging class schedules should be done according to the situation in each province in coordination with the provinces’ governorates.
He attributed the lack of teachers at the beginning of the school year to teachers’ absence during the first week.
Special committees in individual educational directorates and a central committee in the ministry follow up on school preparations.
These committees file weekly reports to the ministry’s directors to support the performance of education directorates.
The Ministry of Education has earmarked SR800 million for the administration of safety and security measures in schools.
It has also deposited SR150 million in the accounts of 1,408 schools, which are included in the services of the Takaful Charity Foundation.
Mohammad Mansour Al-Omran, general manager of Takaful, said that 183,000 students would be included in the projects. Student data was presented by their schools through the Takaful website.
He said that each pupil receives an SR800-share in the project for every academic semester and that the amount would cover basic needs like school bags and meals.
Specialized committees in each school follow up on the pupils’ financial status and estimate the extent of help required within the conditions and guidelines of the Board of Trustees of the Takaful Charity Foundation.
In addition to evaluating school cases, committees will choose the best method to introduce programs and define whether it should be financial or in kind. They also will determine the suitability of the educational environment for the pupils and maintain their families’ privacy.