Culture & Education | Thursday 26 February, 2015 5:43 am |

The Saudi Ministry of Education has set up one of the biggest pavilions at a premier education exhibition in Dubai, to highlight its achievements and use of the world’s latest technology in the classroom.

The eighth Global Education Forum and Global Educational Supplies and Solutions exhibition was launched on Tuesday under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai.
The Saudi pavilion features a model of The Two Holy Mosques and the Makkah Clock Tower and is adorned with pictures of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Saudi Arabia’s flag.
The guests at the event included several Gulf education ministers and Saleh bin Hamad Al-Suhaibani, the Saudi cultural attaché in the UAE. The pavilion showcased the Noor Education Management System and the Virtual Classroom technology currently in use in Saudi Arabia.

The exhibition is regarded as a key annual event in the Middle East. The conference, which forms part of the program, will highlight recent advances in education at seminars and workshops.
Meanwhile, Internet problems resulted in a breakdown in the broadcast of the event to 33,000 principals in the Kingdom. The ministry had provided links to schools so that officials could participate. Several principals complained about the situation.

At the event, more than 500 principals and education leaders from the Kingdom and Gulf Cooperation Council countries discussed methods to improve teaching.
Lee Sing Kong, deputy chairman of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, outlined the importance of adapting school curricula and job skills to a changing world environment.
Douglas Reeves discussed strategies to influence student achievement, while Hassan Al-Howaimel spoke about using education to unify a country. The third session included a paper presented by Abdullah Al-Suhmeh entitled “A model to develop schools in the Kingdom.”

Abdulrahman Al-Barak, undersecretary of education for boys, said the event would help principals understand the need to change their school and improve performance.
On the sidelines of the forum, a number of partnerships were announced with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, the Institute of Management and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Zughaibi, executive director of the King Abdullah Public Education Development Project (Tatweer), and chief executive officer of the Tatweer Education Holding Company, said school leaders are one of the main pillars of an education system.
Deputy Education Minister Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Sheik echoed this view and said leaders are the ones who drive and motivate teachers and administrative staff at schools.
There were a large number of females who attended the event. Some participants complained about poor facilities for the media, inadequate sound systems and lack of transportation.