World Bank Group Commends Saudi Efforts in Distance Learning

The World Bank Group has hailed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop the education system and its remarkable success in the digital and distance education during COVID-19 pandemic, as the Kingdom utilizes alternative solutions and digital technologies to continue the educational process at all levels of education.

In its report titled “Saudi Arabia’s Digital and Distance Education .. Experiences from the COVID-19 Epidemic and Opportunities for Improving Education”, the World Bank Group highlighted the Saudi Ministry of Education’s keenness to improve its educational tools and services, through continuous follow-up of user data on its electronic educational platforms, lauding the virtual school model launched by the Ministry of Education since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year. The report hailed the outcomes of innovation and creativity of this virtual model at all levels, particularly among male and female teachers, pointing out that this experience contributed to building early awareness about the importance of using educational technologies to support and enhance the teachers and students’ educational experiences, as well as finding new ways and methods of communication.

The World Bank reviewed the experience of the Kingdom and the Ministry of Education’s efforts, which extended from the kindergarten stage to the secondary stage, including views of school principals, teachers, students, parents and supervisors in schools.

The report affirmed that the employment of technical solutions and the availability of digital resources and tools supported a continuation of the education journey in the Kingdom, as 89% of teachers believe that they were able to teach all or almost all of the lessons assigned to them, while 98% of teachers find that the Madrasati “My School” platform is useful even after the pandemic. On the other hand, 94% of parents expressed that their children benefited from the digital tools through distance learning.

The World Bank indicated the effectiveness of distance education in building technological skills, digital literacy, and independent learning skills, in addition to digital rules of conduct and time management, pointing out that e-learning in the Kingdom, despite the challenges and exceptional circumstances imposed by the pandemic, witnessed a high interaction at the level of teachers and students, as 98% of students managed to reach “Madrasati”, while 89% of school principals found that the percentage of teacher absenteeism was less than it was in previous years. About 59% of the teachers found the problem of poor internet connection, which constituted an obstacle to accessing the virtual classroom.

The World Bank Group called for employing opportunities to improve the education process.