Reply #35: Special Report: In Saudi Arabia, a clamor for education [View All]

[Catherina]

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Special Report: In Saudi Arabia, a clamor for education #kSA http://tinyurl.com/6fufecc
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Special Report: In Saudi Arabia, a clamor for education

By Ulf Laessing and Asma Alsharif
JEDDAH | Thu Feb 10, 2011 3:13am EST

(Reuters) - Saudi teenager Abdulrahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it's not a situation that looks like changing soon.

"There is not enough in our curriculum," says Saeed, 16, who goes to an all-male state school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. "It is just theoretical teaching, and there is no practice or guidance to prepare us for the job market."

Saeed wants to study physics but worries that his state high school is failing him. He says the curriculum is outdated, and teachers simply repeat what is written in text books without adding anything of practical value or discussions. Even if the teachers did do more than the basics, Saeed's class, at 32 students, is too big for him to get adequate attention. While children in Europe and Asia often start learning a language at five or six, Saudi students start learning English at 12. Much time is spent studying religion and completing exercises heavy with moral instruction. One task for eighth grade students: "Discuss the problem of staying up late, its causes, effects and cure."

In the face of rising unemployment, Saeed has taken parts of his education into his own hands. He learned how to use the internet on his own and sets himself research projects in his own time to try to make up for his school's shortcomings. "The subjects available are not enough to carry us to the career or specialization that is needed for the job," he complains.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/10/us-special-saudi-education-idUSTRE7191PV20110210