Category: Education

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Board of Directors Chairman, Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, laid the foundation stone today, to kick off the construction and equipping of the new library in the University of Sarajevo, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic. This important project is being funded through a generous $22 million grant provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through SFD.

Furthermore, attending the groundbreaking ceremony was Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk, the Saudi Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Osama bin Dakhil Al-Ahmadi, the Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Rifat Skrijelj, the Deputy CEO of SFD, Eng. Faisal Al-Kahtani, and other officials.

The new library will act as a central hub to connect the university’s 28 sub-libraries, and will contribute towards enhancing its educational and research capabilities. With a total area of 13,590 square meters, it will be equipped with the latest technology and digital learning tools, helping to future-proof the university, and allowing it to better meet the needs of its students. In total, more than 22,000 male and female students will benefit from the new library, alongside 1,618 staff and faculty members, and 10,000 external beneficiaries.

Additionally, the library will play a key role in supporting the advancement of the university’s research and innovation capabilities, while helping to build the research skills of students and graduates. It will also contribute towards realizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 4, Quality Education, and SDG 10, Reduced Inequalities.

On this occasion, the SFD Board of Directors Chairman, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, stressed that this project is a testament to the collaborative relationship between both countries, stating: “This project reflects the strong and lasting developmental ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which began three decades ago. We are confident that the new library will help meet the needs of both male and female students at the University of Sarajevo, and the surrounding community.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic, stated: “Thanks to a generous grant from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through SFD, this project has become the largest post-war investment in the infrastructure of our University. It will enrich our academic community, while reflecting the strong ties and mutual respect between our two nations. This library will serve as a symbol of our joint efforts to promote education and advance knowledge, and as a place where generations of students and researchers can gather to contribute to the development of our society, country and wider region.”

The Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk, stated in his address: “The building for which we are laying the foundation stone today is significant because it will also be the most visible bridge of friendship between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for this investment. The library is a symbol of knowledge, cultural upliftment, communication, and I believe that our cooperation and friendship will develop precisely in these directions in the future”.

The Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Rifat Skrijelj, emphasized that today is a special day in the history of the University of Sarajevo, and this joyous occasion represents a visionary step towards achieving our commitment to academic excellence and creating a vibrant and sustainable campus for future generations. “With pride and deep gratitude, we pay tribute today to the generous donation from the Saudi Development Fund, which made this project possible. We extend our thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership for their unwavering support to education, research, and cultural development, as demonstrated through their noble Vision 2030. This significant investment, the largest capital project for our university since the war, testifies to the dedication and friendship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” emphasized Rector Skrijelj.

During the past three decades, SFD has helped to fund 11 projects and development programs in various regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through soft development loans worth a total of $185 million. This latest development cooperation, to construct and equip the Library of the University of Sarajevo, reaffirms the importance of international cooperation and solidarity to achieve sustainable development goals and foster economic and social growth.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted the closing ceremony of the 15th session of the International Children for Peace Festival in Rabat, Morocco. This week-long festival saw the participation of over 400 children from 26 countries.

During his speech at the ceremony, ICESCO’s Director-General Dr. Salim Al-Malik emphasized the importance of children and their role as the creators of a glorious and hopeful future. He urged them to pursue knowledge, embrace noble Islamic values, and work towards building a prosperous future for themselves.

The children who took part in the ceremony showcased their countries’ cultural heritage through musical performances. They also delivered speeches that emphasized the significance of culture and sports in fostering unity, strengthening bonds between nations, and promoting a pursuit of peace.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Ministry of Education signed a memorandum of understanding with Norwegian Refugee Council for cooperation in the aspects of rehabilitating schools and training educational cadres.

The memo inked by Director of Planning and International Cooperation at the Ministry, Ghassan Shugri, and Director of the Council (Andres Gonzalez Rodriguez), including cooperation in the aspects of maintenance and rehabilitation of schools, providing school bags and stationery, and implementing of training courses for teaching and administrative cadres.

The memorandum was signed in the Ministry’s building, and also included cooperation to provide compensatory lessons for students of the basic and secondary education certificates, health awareness campaigns, support for adolescents to engage in vocational education, and the provision of psychological and social support.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Ministry of Education announced Thursday results of Basic Education and Sharia exams for the academic year 2022-2023.

In a statement to SANA, Minister of Education Dr. Darem Tabbaa said that the success rate in basic education reached 77.11%, while in Sharia secondary school reached 92.98%.

The number of students who gained the full degree in the basic education certificate is 162 male and female students distributed in different provinces.

He added that the number of students who obtained the full degree in the basic education certificate is three students distributed in Damascus and its countryside.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education affirmed the role of the Prime Minister’s Fellowship Programme in the professional development and capacity building of national talent under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, commending the continuous follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister on the programme.

During a meeting with the eighth intake of the programme, the minister said it reflected the abundance of creative and ambitious young energy within government institutions. He emphasised the importance of investing in national talent by providing all forms of support to drive qualitative productivity and innovation in various fields.

The Minister highlighted the ministry’s role and mission, in addition to the programmes and projects undertaken by the Ministry, which aims to provide quality education to students and apply international educational policies and best practice.

He also addressed the role of the Higher Education Council in enhancing the performance of universities, attracting the best academic programmes, and regulating the higher education sector.

The minister wished the eighth intake of the programme success in benefitting from the programme, gaining experience and developing their skills to contribute to enhancing the efficiency of government work and to development in Bahrain.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and its companies put in continuous efforts to develop Omani talents and close the gap between the labour market’s needs and qualified Omani professionals. In that vein, OIA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Higher Education institutions in Oman, launched a new employment and development programme under the name ‘Mu’tamad.’

The programme focuses on recruiting and developing Omani graduates in finance and accounting disciplines to qualify them for the Chartered Certified Accountants Certificate (ACCA).

Mu’tamad seeks to onboard 20-25 graduates and offers them the opportunity to obtain the ACCA within three years from their recruitment. This career development journey includes tiered educational programmes, in addition to technical and behavioural training in line with international standards.

The programme will help create a pool of local professionals who can lead the financial and accounting sectors in the future. To achieve this, the programme will enhance their skills in various financial and administrative fields, build their capabilities, develop their knowledge, instill positive values, and increase their competitiveness locally and internationally.

Commenting on the launch, Ayad Al Balushi, Assistant Deputy President for Finance and Assurance at OIA, said that the new Mu’tamad programme comes as part of a series of other training programmes initiated by OIA, such as Nomou and Ea’dad programmes that have already trained many national talents most of whom were later employed at various government units and companies.

He further noted that such programmes reflect OIA’s commitment to training national talents, qualifying them, developing their capabilities, and preparing them for the labour market.

He added that supporting national competencies and encouraging them to obtain professional certificates will also help fill the need for these specialized disciplines. It will also enhance the companies’ overall finance and accounting performance, increase productivity, create job opportunities for jobseekers, and improve Omanization.

Registration is already open, with certain criteria to be observed. Applicants must be of Omani nationality and hold a bachelor or master’s degree in accounting or finance. Qualified candidates will further be shortlisted through written tests and interviews. To apply for the programme, please follow this link: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3672305955.

Source: Oman News Agency

A third round of resit exams will be held at the beginning of of new school year 2023-2024 in September, said the Minister of Education Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma.

The minister indicated that the two-week exams will target Grade IX and Grade XII students who have failed to pass in their studies this year.

Dr. Juma announced the plan today as he chaired the meeting of the committee in charge of oversseing preparations for the new school year. The meeting was also attended by second competent officials representing different districts.

He indicated that the Ministry of Education will unveil the tables of exams in August, while students’ exam results will be announced late September.

He commended the role of work teams which were set up to conduct the exams represents different departments, urging students and their parents to prepare well.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Education Minister Dr. Mohamed bin Mubarak Juma today received pricipans of public schools which were awarded gold and silver shields by the Education and Training Quality Assurance Authority (BQA), after obtaining “Excellent” and “Good” ratings in their reviews for the fourth session of the year 2022-2023.

During the meeting, Dr. Juma praised the efforts made by the teaching and administrative staff in these outstanding schools, commending the programmes and efficient practices to enhance their performance and optimize students’ learning.

He extended thanks to BQA chairman and board members as well as the executive management, praising their constant partnership with the ministry to promote education and achieved goals set out.

Jidhafs Secondary Girls’ School obtained the Gold Shield in recognition of its excellent rating. Hidd Intermediate Girls’ School, Omar ibn Abdulazi Primary Boys’ School, Arad Primary Girls’ School, Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa Primary Boys’ Schools, Saar Primary Girls’ School, Shahrakan Primary Girls’ School, Aisha Umm Al-Mu’mineen Primary Girlds’ School and Hafsa Primary Girls’ School obtained the Silver Shield for their “Good” rating.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Arab Council for Childhood and Development (ACCD) organized yesterday in Cairo a training course entitled “Work to rehabilitate and integrate the children in safe places”, in cooperation with the National Center for Child Culture of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, along with the support of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND).

The three-day training course, attended by more than 25 specialists in the fields of child culture, focuses on enabling children to benefit from arts, culture, sports, self-development skills, and dialogue.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Education Ministry issued on Monday results of the first round of High School Certificate exams with literary and scientific branches and all other branches for the year 2023.

Education Minister, Darem Tabaa, said in a press conference that the success rate in the scientific branch was 66.33%, while the literary branch reached at 68.68 %. whereas the rate reached 77.40% in the Sharia Secondary school, 78.28%, in the Vocational Secondary one, 67.82% at Industrial High School, while the rate in the Commercial Secondary school was 68.37%.

Tabbaa added that the full mark was obtained by 33 students in the scientific section.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The first summer school of its kind, in Oman, for higher education institutions’ academic staff was organized in Salalah by Sultan Qaboos University (SQU).

Activities of the 5-day programme took the slogan: “Designing educational materials for a hybrid/blended learning style and a competency-based learning”.

The programme was held under the auspices of Dr. Ahmed Mohsin Al Ghassani, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality. It comprised workshops on flexible blended learning and learning based on competencies with a view to enhancing teaching skills and achieve quality education.

Fifty academics from Oman and abroad took part in the programme.

Source: Oman News Agency

The Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) announced the launch of a national survey aimed at measuring education indicators in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The survey is in line with efforts to provide national statistics and indicators that support the regional and international position of the country, particularly with regards to the Human Capital Index.

The survey will assess literacy indicators among a random sample of respondents, in accordance with international standards used for calculating this index. The survey will be conducted by the iGA over a two-week period in collaboration with Silah Gulf.

The education survey reflects the continuous efforts to enhance the Kingdom’s international indicators across a range of fields, and mainly that are related to education and learning. The survey’s findings will help to reinforce Bahrain’s rank for the Human Capital Index within the United Nations eGovernment survey 2024. This will be achieved through measuring education indicators among both citizens and residents, by assessing their literacy levels and the extent to which they engage in reading and writing in their daily lives. Additionally, the survey will track the mean years of schooling completed by individuals, including their highest attained levels of education.

The survey adheres to UNESCO standards and will be carried out on a random sample of 10,000 individuals from citizens and residents with age 15 years and above. It will be conducted via telephone by employees of Silah Gulf, who will call randomly the selected individuals from the number 17155293. After introducing themselves, the survey team members will highlight the importance of participating in the activity and will obtain few questions related to the education indicators, which require only a few minutes to complete.

The iGA encourages the participants to actively engage with the survey, as it will play a vital role in the Kingdom’s plans and national programs. The survey process will be confidential, and the data collected will be analyzed to generate indicators relevant to the survey’s objectives without disclosing the respondents’ information. The iGA looks forward to the cooperation of individuals, both citizens and residents, throughout the two-week survey period.

Source: Bahrain News Agency