​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Emergence of General Education education

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The first education system appeared in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the establishment of the Directorate of Knowledge in 1926, which is considered as laying the foundation stone for the education system in the Kingdom.
In 1928, a decision was issued to form the first knowledge council, the aim of which was to establish an educational system that supervises education in the Hijaz region. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the powers of the Directorate of Education expanded, and its function was no longer limited to supervising education in the Hijaz only, but rather included the supervision of all educational affairs in the entire Kingdom. It included 323 schools and started with four schools.
 In 1952, the Ministry of Education was established during the reign of King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. It was an extension and development of the Knowledge Directorate, and it was entrusted with planning and supervising general education for boys in its three stages (primary - intermediate - secondary). King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz was the first minister.
In 1959, the General Presidency for Girls' Education was established with 15 primary schools and one intermediate teachers' institute.
With the development of education, a royal decree was issued to merge the General Presidency for Girls' Education in the Ministry of knowledge in 2003. A year later, the name of the Ministry of Knowledge was changed into the Ministry of Education.


The Emergence of Higher Education​

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The Ministry of Higher Education was established in 1975 by the Royal Decree No. 236/1 to undertake the implementation of the Kingdom's policy in higher education. With this decision, the Minister of Higher Education was responsible for implementing the government's policy in the field of university education.
The university education has received generous support, represented in the establishment of new universities, scientific and applied colleges, and huge financial allocations in budgets.  The number of universities in the Kingdom reached twenty-five public universities, 9 private universities, and 34 private colleges, which contained scientific and applied specializations in various fields, and the Ministry of Education adopted Higher education recent trends in scientific research and future planning.
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​Merging the Ministries of Education and Higher Education into one Ministry

In an effort to improve education outcomes, develop curricula, reduce the gap between general education and higher education, and achieve coherence, harmony and integration between them, which will reflect positively on upgrading educational outcomes, in line with the requirements of the labor market, and unify efforts and invest energies, competencies and capabilities in the two ministries, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued an order on January 30, 2015, merging the Ministries of Education and Higher Education into one ministry under the name (Ministry of Education).


To view Roya​l Decree​ click here


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