Growth and Education Needs in Saudi Arabia

Higher education plays an important role in promoting national economic growth by providing skilled and innovative workforce. Since oil was discovered in 1938, Saudi Arabia has achieved tremendous economic growth thanks to the huge oil reserves. Over the years, the Saudi Arabian government has invested heavily in building educational policies that meet the high demands of public and private sector experts. In addition, Onsman (2010) explained that the need for diversifying resources through investment in social services such as education is growing in Japan.

The purpose of this article is to gain insights on how Saudi Arabia's educational system works to attract more attention to the work of school principals. In this article I will explain the conditions, factors, and reasons for a teacher who wishes to accept Saudi Arabia 's educational system to be able to proceed with the work of the principal. It is important to understand Saudi Arabia's educational system. In most cases, education in Saudi Arabia is rationalized by gender. In other words, boys and girls are creating three types of education systems.

This article will focus on comparing Saudi Arabia and British education system. When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, it was not easy for everyone to receive education, limited to private tutoring at religious schools and private teachers in mosques. (Al-obaid, 2006) These schools teach Islamic law and basic reading and writing skills. By the end of the century, Saudi Arabia had a national education system that gives students free education to all universities, from primary school to high school for all students.

Prior to 1937, Saudi Arabia had not received secondary education. The first high school was an educational institution in Saudi Arabia which opened in 1926. The real beginning of secondary education took place concurrently with the development of a preparatory school for foreign missionaries in 1937. The initial purpose of this school was to make Saudi students receive higher education at the Egyptian university. This course is similar to the Egyptian course and most teachers are from Egypt. Secondary education is a three-year course. The economic development of the oil sector in the 1950s and 1960s brought about a significant increase in Saudi Arabia's industry and commerce. The need to reform the secondary education system and more secondary schools soon became clear. Saudi Arabia's Supreme Education Council began expanding Saudi Arabia's educational system on a large scale. This is influenced by the American education system. There are currently three types of secondary education in Saudi Arabia.