The advent of Modern Education system in Saudi Arabia

Modern education system was introduced to Saudi Arabia in the late 19^th century. Islamic higher education mainly existed in the main cities during that era. The commencement of modern education helped to diversify in many different fields of expertise. The Ottomans were the first to introduce modern and advanced education system in the Hejaz region. Doors to new opportunities were opened in the Ottoman provinces of Hejaz and Al Ahsa in the new era. During 1920s, some private schools began offering modern education subjects and courses. This initiative was started in larger towns of Saudi Arabia. Later on, in the 1930s the modern education was officially promoted by the state department.

 

As time advanced, many schools were setup in the year 1951. The ministry of education came into existence in the mid of year 1954.  It was formed to manage and promote better education policies. It helped the education sector to blossom in the coming years. In 1964, the government initiated public level education for girls. Though, it was confronted by conservative groups yet the government continued its project. Secured and essential education systems were initiated with the development programs announced by the government in the late 70s. 

By the end of 90s, the literacy rate for men was about 15% in Saudi Arabia. Women had only 2% literacy rate. Later in the year 2002, this ratio changed enormously with men’s literacy rate reaching at 73% and women 48% respectively. Subsequently, the percentage kept on growing and in the mid of 2002 the figure reached up to 91% and 72%.  The Saudi government has done a great job in improving the education system despite many hindrances standing in the way. The standard of education that is being provided to the budding students matches international standards. The results are exceptionally good and clearly visible in the present era. 

The Saudi education system gives huge benefits to the students. Though it is not mandatory to get education but the students are given free study course material and health services once they opt to study. The education services are also free. The education level in different regions is totally dependent on the number of schools present in that particular region. The government is working hard towards enhancing the education system and at the same time working rigorously towards increasing the rate of admissions.

As per the old data, following students have enrolled from 1960 to 1989.

·        22% Boys and 2% Girls were  enrolled in the year 1960

·        81% Boys and 43% Girls were enrolled in the year 1981

·        1.4 million Boys and 1.2 million Girls were enrolled in the year 1989

Nowadays, female students have exceeded the number of male students in terms of enrollment in schools as well the universities. Saudi Arabia now has 73 colleges and 16,600 schools that are only for Girls.  

As per the latest data, there are about 1.64 million female and 1.19 million male students enrolled in Saudi Arabia. About 1.5 million boys and girls are studying in the private schools.

Tips to start an import/export business

Do you want to start an import/export business? Following tips would definitely help you in getting started your own import/export firm.

There are Embassies or Consulates in foreign countries that have been set up by many countries in order to boost exporting of their goods. The Consulates are present in different cities whereas Embassies are usually located in a nation’s capital. You can get industry directories and other important information related to this business through Consulates. Manufacture lists, directories and contact information such as email address can be obtained from the Embassy website.

Contacting a particular country’s Consulate is essential if you want to import goods over there. You can get the lists of manufacturers and drafts, in case if you are unsure what products the other country wants.

You should communicate with your country’s taxation department to get registration numbers or to know more about different policies that you need to follow. Trade barriers have been set up against certain countries and they are known as embargoes. For example, Cuba comes under embargo list in many countries. It is always better to get full details from your own government to know whether the country you are considering comes under embargo or restriction list or not. Next step would be to get in touch with that country’s Embassy or Consulate to know if there are any restrictions against products from your own country.

Gather all the important information about licensing requirements.  These days various countries have exempted license requirement for most of the products. But, if you are looking to import or export certain food items, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals etc. then you would need a license in this scenario. It is always advisable to initiate your business with low risk products that are easy to exchange and have less trade barriers. To give you an example giftware is one such item that can be imported or exported easily.

To get reliable trade information you should go through research libraries and participate in the programs organized by the Chambers of Commerce. Such programs offer good trade information and will also help in increasing your network knowledge.

It’s important to bear in mind that when exporting goods every shipment deal will be different with regards to shipping and customs. Each company will have different set of products and will require different set of services. Hiring the services of a freight forwarder is a good option. They manage shipping and customs for goods being imported or exported to other countries. You need to understand their complete work procedure and question your queries in advance in order to avoid any untoward incident in the future. You have to be very clear with your shipping, license, insurance and all such important things.

Letters of credit are the easiest way of paying when trading internationally and are available with banks. Contact your bank to provide with letters of credit. With this service, the banks gives assurance that the goods are delivered before the amount is exchanged thereby reducing the risk of doing business internationally.

Again, it is recommended to participate in Trade Fairs or Missions. You will discover more options available in import/export business by consulting with your local Chamber of Commerce.

You can get full information related to import/export service providers at our website http://www.daleeli.com/en/category/all/all/Import-&-Export-Agencies/12825

How to choose the right advertising Agency – An insight

It’s always a difficult task to choose the correct advertising agency for your company. An advertising agency is responsible for shaping the success of your company/business and so it is of great importance that you analyze before taking that decision on whom to choose for your advertising requirements.

There are a few points that need to be considered before you choose the best advertising agency in Saudi Arabia. It’s not necessarily important to go for a big company always. It’s actually the smaller advertising firms that provide you with more powerful results. These small companies bring in a personal touch and have a better creative approach.  The bigger companies only showcase the big named clients they are serving and may not offer you the results you are looking for. The idea is to search for an advertising company that understands your requirement better and gets excited by the challenge that your business provides them.  This makes the advertising company to come up with more creativity and is likely to get better results than the big named advertising firms. Creativity is a major factor when it comes to good advertisement. It’s always better to check out their portfolio to get an idea as to how creative they are when it comes to creativity. Check out how the advertising company has helped its clients in growing their business. Ignore the awards that the advertising company has won, rather focus on getting an advertising company which can understand your business and can explain as to how they can help you grow.

It takes a lot of time to choose an advertising agency in Saudi Arabia and so it is very important to choose a one which can help you in different mediums of advertisement. It’s crucial to choose a company that can provide you with the complete marketing package as you do not really want to waste your time every time you feel the need for a different advertising medium. An advertising agency that can cater to not only press advertising but also to outdoor, radio, in-house media, digital marketing and public relations will help a lot. It is always better to choose an agency that has its own design team. A good in-house team always helps as it makes sure that the work is done on time. It’s always good to check out their previous work including brochure design and newsletter designs of their clients.

And finally before you take that final decision, you will have to analyze the costs offered by different advertising agencies. You should have a complete picture of the different costs as all firms have their own style of working. It is important to understand the creative costs and check for any hidden costs or any management charges.

Once you decide on an advertising agency that will take care of your company’s advertising campaigns, it is very fundamental to demand the advertising agency for a dedicated accounts manager who would be handling the complete account of your company. It is equally important to have a good relationship with the assigned accounts manager as he would play a key role in your business growth.

Advertising firms play a very important role in the company’s growth and so the above points if followed can certainly help you in choosing that RIGHT agency for your advertisement needs.

Source :- http://blog.daleeli.com/how-to-choose-the-right-advertising-agency-an-insight/

How to find the best Day Care Centers in Saudi Arabia

A day care center will help in taking care of your baby with utmost care and attention. Once you have decided to utilize the services of a promising day care center all you need to do is take few important decisions to make sure that the selected baby care or day care center have matched up with your criteria.

It is very crucial to identify your priorities.  Do you want to hire the services of best child care centers in Saudi Arabia near your work place? What would be more convenient is up to you.  Would you want your child to be around many other children (baby care) or few children in a center? Few children will be more likely available in home daycare in Saudi Arabia. Make a note of everything so you can refer the list.

Doing your own research is also recommended. Ask from your trusted ones about well-known daycares and baby cares in your region. Personal references will definitely help you in finding them. To find out day care near your home you can visit Daleeli.sa website for guidelines and contact information. Daleeli has a list of childcare centers and home daycares in your area. This could be the best place to start searching.

You can visit and ask preliminary questions to the staff and manager at baby care centers. You can get the details from caregivers and home daycare providers about fees, working hours, and holidays. Moreover, they will also help with issues like sleeping, feeding and discipline.  Take schedule of day care or baby care daily activities and their policies. Finding out about health programs and safety policies and procedures is also very important. A good day care center in Saudi Arabia will heartily share its policies on everything. Hygiene issues from hand washing, diaper changing and handling sick children should be given utmost priority.

No doubt you should feel comfortable at the thought of having your child at the centers. Hence, it is very important to gather information about a center from as many sources as possible. You will also want a center that will inspire your child to get ready for school. A caregiver should always keep an eye on your child even when he/she is sleeping.

You need to ask the manager about what ratio they are maintaining at the center. Basically, there should be one caregiver for 2 to 3 infants or young toddlers and for 4 to 6 older toddlers or preschoolers’ one caregiver should always be available at their service. Your child will get 1 to 1 attention if this type of ratio is followed at the centers and thereby it will help them to have better social and emotional development.

Choosing a daycare is a very crucial decision. This information highlights only the specifics. Surely you’ll want a safe and clean environment for your baby and having experienced caretakers at the center should be your top criteria. Small kids are difficult to take care of and hence they need to have strong relationships with their caregivers. Ultimately, you will not want to hire services of inexperienced caregivers.

Source:- http://blog.daleeli.com/how-to-find-the-best-day-care-centers-in-saudi-arabia/

Beware of funds pleas on social media

The Ministry of Social Affairs has warned against video clips with appeals for donations on social media by unknown people as the money can reach terrorist organizations or drug addicts.

Such actions violate Saudi rules, it said, pointed out that some of those putting appeals are psychiatric patients or drug addicts, an online newspaper has reported.The ministry has made it clear that recently a number of video clips were found on social media showing youths appealing to people to help the needy or the disabled.

The youths who take these photos and record these clips try to pretend as if these people are of Saudi nationality and that government agencies have neglected them.

“After coming across a number of video clips, teams comprising researchers, psychologists and health specialists were formed to look into the cases. The teams revealed that most of those making appeals for donation are of unknown nationalities. A number of them did not even cooperate with the authorities which wanted to help them and provide shelter. 

These people think if they remain in the area, they will be able to collect money, as they pretend as if government organizations are ignoring them and do not take care of them. 
Medical examinations of some of them have revealed that either they are psychiatric patients or drug addicts and cashing in on people’s sentiments.

Source :- http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/860416