Turn public schools into training camps during summer vacations, say scholars

Turn public schools into training camps during summer vacations, say scholars
OPTIMUM USE: A school with resources and facilities can be best utilized during summer for imparting skills among students. (SPA)
Updated 01 June 2016
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Turn public schools into training camps during summer vacations, say scholars

Turn public schools into training camps during summer vacations, say scholars

DAMMAM: Since public schools in the Kingdom have closed for a record 4-month summer vacation, the demand is growing to utilize the vacation period by using the school premises and infrastructure for summer camps to impart training and increasing skills of students.
These educational institutions be transformed into community centers to take optimum use of the vacation period, which is the longest in a decade, said Abdullah Al-Hamoud, a specialist in human development programs.
Al-Hamoud said: “The idea of utilizing public schools during vacations to make them like summer training centers needs to be studied by the concerned authorities in order to activate the cultural and educational skills of the youth.”
Al-Hamoud stressed the fact that a lot of students needed training courses to develop their skills during the vacation.
He said it is better to assign a specialized training center as well as qualified specialists from the Department of Education to implement such a project to ensure that it will be successful.
Eid Al-Anzi, an assistant professor of Social Work, said: “The idea is fascinating and it will have a lot of positive impacts in the community, especially given this year’s four-month summer vacation,” explaining that taking advantage of schools during holidays instead of simply closing them should be accepted on condition that there is control over such a project from the relevant authorities.
He said that the Ministry of Labor and Social Development should undertake the supervision of such a project because it is the most capable of ensuring success, in coordination with experts and academics from the specialized universities.
Majid Al-Hamad, Dean of the Institute of Arabic Linguistics at King Saud University, said: “It’s important to reap a benefit from public schools during vacations by having them provide educational, training and sports programs and activities that fit with youth interests and needs,” confirming that such a project will contribute to protecting young Saudi men and women from moral and religious deviations by exploiting their spare time in a useful way.