Education and Economic Development in Saudi Arabia

 

Economical and political turmoil was witnessed in parts of North Africa and Middle East since 2011, but it has not affected Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has remained stable and many foreign investors still view it as an attractive and promising place to do business.

The Kingdom’s currency, Saudi Riyal, is one of the world's most stable currencies and it has not witnessed any compelling change in its exchange value during the last three decades.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's 25 largest economies. It is the largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). Hence, major MNCs have invested in the Kingdom.

The country has a very fast growing economy, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2014 reached over 8%. Thus, the ever growing economy is creating great opportunities for both exporters and investors. The industry is rapidly growing because the economy is being diversified. It has further resulted in economic reform, market liberalization and a growing private sector.

Saudi Arabia has significant cost advantages because of low domestic cost of energy. The industrial lands are also available in the major vicinities due to generous subsidies and incentives. The Kingdom provides duty free access to other MENA and GCC economies and has good transport and infrastructure links.

Exporters and Investors in Saudi Arabia enjoy the benefits of well-developed business clusters and economic assurance that set the Kingdom apart from its neighbors and from other emerging economies. The World Economic Forum has ranked Saudi Arabia, 6th globally, for Local Supplier Quantity. It has placed the Kingdom at 24^th rank for Production Process Improvement and Value Chain Breadth. Saudi Arabia’s domestic industries are well established, competitive and economical. It varies from industrial projects to transportation, producing energy to providing education and provides exceptional opportunities for cost savings. Now, the industries like Oil, gas and petrochemicals are not only the major source of development.  Education, training and human capital development has seen tremendous growth over the years.

In recent times, The Kingdom has introduced a total reform of the present education system. It has sanctioned huge funds to build new educational institutes and collaborated with International Universities for training program and overseas degrees for Saudi students. Many investors are showing keen interest to be a part of this growing industry in Saudi Arabia, and hence making foreign investment in education to meet rapid growth demands.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars in setting up four Economic Cities in different parts of the country. They are Knowledge Economic City (Al Medina), King Abdullah Economic City (Rabigh, Jeddah), Jazan Economic City (Jazan City), and Prince Abdul Aziz bin Mousdaed Economic City (Hail).

These ventures will be public-private partnerships that will invite foreign companies to make attractive investments. Every project is designed to boost investment potential in all sectors, and deliver substantial advantages to business located in that region. All the cities will help in promoting economic diversification and the market analyst believe that it will create over a million new job opportunities.

Source: http://blog.daleeli.com/education-and-economic-development-in-saudi-arabia/

How to choose the Best School for Our Kids in Saudi Arabia

Choosing a school is a challenging task and one that a lot of parents find difficult. Here is some real good advice for you from our expert base and we hope you will find it extremely handy in making the final decision.

With so many options to choose from, it is a difficult task to decide which school would be appropriate for your child. Public Schools in Saudi Arabia are not an option for the Expats and so it makes it challenging for the expatriates to choose from a variety of private & international schools. 

It’s always a good idea to start searching for a school as early as possible to avoid rushing into an important decision. It’s always good to have that extra time so that you can also discuss options with your friends who have had a similar experience.

There are a lot of factors when considering a school. “Fees” is one such factor. The tuition fees in Saudi Arabia start approximately from SAR 4000 a year to almost 75,000 per year for a few schools. You will have to determine your budget and research the available schools in that price range. There are some expats though whose children’s school fees is covered or subsidized by their employers.

There is a whole list of school to choose from. Please visit the following links to get the list of schools in your region. 1) Schools in Riyadh 2) Schools in Jeddah 3) Schools in Dammam 4) Private Schools 5) International Schools

Once you filter the schools based on your budget, it’s always advisable to visit the school and spend ample time to get a better understanding of their physical space, classrooms, libraries, gymnasiums and playgrounds. All parents know their child’s individual needs and his extracurricular activities and so it is important to review the school’s practices. It is always advised to seek your child’s opinion during your tour of the campus and understand his concerns, desires and expectations. You can as well ask the school for their school prospectus and read it.

A lot of International Schools are governed by embassies however there are a lot of schools which are private. A lot of these schools host multiple curricula under a single roof and so it becomes much easier for you to decide which curricula to choose from.

The demand for schools is very high due to ever – increasing expat community in the Kingdom. It is always important to make application for registration as early as possible to obtain a suitable slot. The registration is mostly non-refundable and varies between schools.

Apart from the factors mentioned above, distance is one factor which should be considered before you take that final decision before closing in on any school. Location and transportation play a major role as you may not want your child to spend two hours every single day. Saudi Arabia has geographically large cities and traffic jams during the peak hours will most probably add time to the length of the commute and so it’s good to check the travel time before you finalize any school for your child.

Academic year in Saudi Arabia starts from September. An academic year is mostly divided into three quarters. School working hours are mostly 7AM to 3.30PM with working days Sunday to Thursday. All the schools are closed on the weekends. Most of the schools shorten their working hours during the holy month of Ramadan.

Do not rush into a decision and make a proper research before you make that critical decision of choosing the right school for your child.

Source: http://blog.daleeli.com/how-to-choose-the-best-school-for-our-kids-in-saudi-arabia/