Improving early education in Saudi: two women's stories

Education today clearly ranks as a top priority for Saudi Arabia. The annual budget for higher education is now more than $15 billion USD, the government has invested money to fully fund Saudi students who wish to study abroad, and during the past seven years, the number of universities in the country has tripled from 15 to 45.

Early childhood education has also received government support and mainstream attention in recent years, due in part to two Saudi visionaries. They may be a generation apart, but Ilham Al-Dakheel and Samia Kazi have been a powerful force in helping to gain recognition of the importance of early education.

The story began for Al-Dakheel in the early 1990s when she launched classes for preschool students. Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Al-Dakheel received her PhD in business administration from Ohio State University, then returned home and began a career in human resources. After working closely with talented top female executives in Saudi Arabia, Al-Dakheel was inspired by one of them to change direction and enter the field of education.

As she conducted research on the benefits of early childhood education’s impact on salaries, discipline, and college performance, the Ministry of Education began to pay attention to her work. Realizing that governments can often move slowly, she credits her business background for helping her raise money from investors. Today, she is CEO of Ambassadors Schools, which offers a Montessori education model across the Kingdom.

Shaping a child’s future

A leader in this new generation of young mothers is Samia Kazi, who co-founded the organization Arabian Child. In two years, the organization has trained more than 500 preschool teachers, law enforcement officers, parents, and volunteers in the United Arab Emirates. Kazi initially followed in her father’s footsteps by working for a hospital in Riyadh. But during her five years there, her entrepreneurial nature began to emerge. She eventually left the hospital and moved to London with her husband who was beginning graduate school.

Continued here:

Improving early education in Saudi: two women’s stories