SAUDI ARABIA: EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT MAY 1975

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86T00608R000600170023-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 51
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 8, 2005
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: May 1, 1975
• Content Type: REPORT

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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
SAUDI ARABIA: EDUCATION AS A
TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
May 1975
This study has been undertaken in connection with a multi-
country program of assessing social change in the Arab world.
It is being sent to analysts and others who have a particular
interest in the affairs of Saudi Arabia and the Peninsula. After
surveying the Saudi transition from the traditional to a
rontemporary form of education, paying particular attention to
the continuing influence of religion, the paper assesses the
degree to which Saudi educational programs will fall short of
meeting the country's requirement for trained manpower in the
years ahead and describes the options open to the Kingdom to cope
with the problem. These topics are covered in Sections lr and VI.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
PR 75-30814
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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
SAUDI ARABIA: EDUCATION AS A
TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
I. THE SE'rTING
Until the end of the second World War, the inhospitable and
barren desert of the Arabian peninsula had provided the Kingdom uf
Saudi Arabia a cultural cocoon. While its more accessible neighbors
were experiencing foreign invasion and rule, society in Saudi Arabia
continued to follow, as it had for centuries, a political system
modeled after that developed by the prophet Mohammed. The holy book
of Islam, the Koran, served as constitution, legal code, and social
guide; and the traditional Arab values and customs dictated daily
life. The primitive economic structure was based on oasis agriculture,
nomadic herding, commerce, and the pilgrimage revenues. Only 30 years
ago, the Kingdom was bankrupt more often than not, facing crisis
after crisis in the process of becoming a united state. Almost over-
night, all this changed. Following the discovery of vast Saudi oil .
reserves in 1938, oil revenues grew from $100,000 in that year to
$5.5 billion in 1973. Saudi Arabia's estimated 1974 revenues are $30
billion.
Yet, in 1975 and the years to come, Saudi Arabia will be facing a
crisis just as real as any of those of the past. Her future financial
security, due to the depletable nature of oil, requires economic
diversification. While the nation presently can afford to import the
material resources and manpower necessary to build an adequate production
base and diversify the economy, the population of Saudi Arabia
lacks the orientation and skills to fully participate in suct.a structure.
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If the government cannotl develop the Saudi's potential through
educational programs and manpower planning, foreign workers will, be
employed at increasing rates, and, "the Kingdom will find that Saudis
are becoming second class citizens in their own land." (Guidelines
for the Second Development Plan 19754980, Saudi Arabian Central
Planning Organization, p. 184,) Perhaps even worse, the very vision
of a modern Islamic state, so long protected and nurtured. within the
cocoon of cultural homogeneity and religious puritanism, may well be
destroyed in the wake of wholesale modernization.
II. DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
A. Background
Before
the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1938, the nation's social and
economic enviroment provided neither the motivation nor the funds to
expand the centuries-old, Islamic concept of education. Education,
when available, remained largely limited to religious teaching and
focused on the study of the Koran.
Because the Koran is a religious hook, revealed to Mohammed the
prophet, it is sacred and must remain unaltered. Its sacred nature
leaves little room for personal interpretation or free thinking con-
cerning its content. In the kuttab, Koranic school, a young boy would
spend the entire day listening to, memorizing, and reciting the Koran
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and traditions of Islam. He then advanced to learning other religious
texts and his instructor's detailed intezprotation of them. Thus,
formal education entailed learning by rote, memorization of verbal
content, and afforded little or no interpretation of substance. Only
a few developed reading and writing skills beyond. the rudimentary
level.
While classes in the kuttab were theoretically open to girls, in
practice, very few were educated. Restricted by the religious values
and social norms of Saudi culture, women had few activities outside
the home. In this role,theyjiad little opportunity or motivation to
seek learning, and essentially no way to use it.
Tutorial education was the counterpart of the kuttab for the
sons of the royal family and the elite. While the strong religious
orientation remained, studies also included literary disciplines and
minimal instruction in secular subjects. The approach and purpose
of education was the same as that of the kuttab. For example, the
late King Faysal received no formal education, "but was brought up
under the direct influence and guidance of my father, and I have tried
to follow in his footsteps." From his maternal grandfather, a man
known for his piety aid learning, he learned to recite the Koran before
he could read. He also studied the Prophet's Traditions, read Arabic
literature and composed poetry.
All forms of formal education, private or public, were restricted
to only a small percentage of the population. The only really widespread
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form of education was the informal teaching provided within the family.
Children were reared within the social and religious structure pre-
scribed by Islam, listened to Arab folklore and poetry, and were
taught the customs and social practices of their culturo. Thus,
even the unschooled nomad could recite folk poetry, cite Arab history,
and repeat parts of the Holy Koran.
STAT
In short, all forms of traditional education in Saudi Arabia
served one purpose: instill the new generations with the religious
and social values and traditions of their forefathers. This form of
education was at one time common to the Arab world. The uniqueness
of Saudi Arabia lies in the fact that this system existed, uninfluenced
by foreign colonization, missionary activities, or secularization, until
the mid-20th century. While the rest of the Middle East was discovering
the West and experiencing subsequent change, Saudi Arabia was
rediscovering Islam in its most fundamental and puritanical form,
WahhabisW STAT
*Wahhabism, a sect of Islam founded in the 18th century by Mohammed ibn
Abd al-Wahhab, advocates a return to the simpZicity of the early religion
as recorded in the Koran and sunna (tradition based on the words or deeds
of the Prophet Mohammeo0 This movement won the support of the Saudi
family in the 1750's, and, since that time, the House of Saud has been
synonymous with the Wahhabi movement.
Present-day Saudi Arabia was established through the military-religious
exploits ofAbdal-Asis ibn Saud in the first quarter of this century.
Patterned after the Moslem community of the Koran religious authority
existed in parallel with the secular authority. Ibn Saud was the ruler
under God while the ulema (the learned men) were the guardians of the
people's conscience. The Koran was the only constitution and Wahhabi
interpretation of the hay text and the sunna were observed to the letter.
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And so Saudi Arabia might have remained, but for its increasing
financial requirements. As a traditional tribal shaykh, ibn Saud was
responsible for the welfare of his people. Their continued allegiance
rested on his ability to provide. With few exports, a heavy need for
imports, and no steady source of revenue, a concession agreement with
ARMCO seemed a handy means of obtaining the necessary cash to
stabilize the newly conquered state_L\ The social impact of this action
was never anticipated -- nor was it sought -- either by the Saudis
or the Americans:
"...segregation was easy to achieve: the
desert was empty enough and big enough for
the Americans to disappear in it. This was
what they wanted; they were there to find
oil, and for no other reason, and the Arabs
could not help them. It was also what ibn
Saud wanted; he had admitted the Americans
to his country, but he still hoped to avoid
exposing his people to their influence."
(David Howarth, The Desert King, a Life or
?
ibn Saud, Collins Clear-Type Press, London,
1964, p. 191)
Once oil was discovered, however, and production begun an a large
scale, interface between the Americans and Arabs was inevitable. Faced
with Saudi Arabia's primitive economic structure, non-existent infrastructure,
and unskilled and uneducated populace, ARMCO imported everything the
complex !oil industry required, while working to develop an indigenous
supply wherever possible. In the fields of education and manpower
development, ARAMCO began by giving employees in the Eastern Province
on-the-job training. Through example and repetition, those never exposed
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to the industry and lacking any formal education could become
accomplished in a complex skill. Formal training was necessary to
further "Saudi-ize" the work force and place Saudis in managerial
positions. Industrial Training Centers were, established in Aboicl,
Dhahran, and Ras Tanura, offering classes in Arabic, English, mathematics,
the sciences, social studies and the operation of businrIss machines.
Today, courses are availsble during regular working hours and on the
employees' own time. Craftshop classrooms provide instruction in
electronics, instrumcmt repair, refrigeration mechanics, and machinery and
air-conditioning maintenance. Courses, academic standards, and the teaches
complement all have evolved with the changing operating environment and
the increasing level of skills available in the labor force.
For its part, Saudi society, exposed for the first time to modern
technology, foreigners and foreign ways, regular work opportunities
and a stimulated economy, was stunned. The new oil wealth made public
education feasible and the administrative and technical needs for both
ARAMCO and the government made it necessary.* However, educational
development was deterred by the cultural forces of traditional Saudi
society.
1-/n 1926, the government had ruled to establish public education as is
evidenced by articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution of the Bijas:
article 23: Public education comprises the diffusion of science?
education, and the arts, and the opening of libraries, schools,
and religious institutes, great care and attention being
taken to act in accordance with the foundations of the religion,?
article 24: A law for public education shall be decreed and
shall be brought into force gradually. Elementary education
shall be free of cost throughout the Kingdom of the Hijaz.
This document ultimately influenced educational legislation for the
entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its implementation, however, came only
with the changing financial and political conditions.
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B. Government and Education
Given the political and religious importance of the Saud
family, the ruler has had a primary role in determining the pace
of change. Ibn Saud united the country and contributed to the
physical internal stability, but the value of spreading the
benefits of progress through social reform rather than gold was
unfathomable to him. His son and successor, Saud, was so pre-
occupied with international affairs and so extravagant in the
spending of public monies that he brought the country to the verge
oE bankruptcy and political upheaval. It remained to the late KITT
Faysal to implement a course of social reform and measured domestic
growth with the ultimate goal of "developing the community educa-
tionally, culturally, and socially so that it might reach the level
that would be tiuly represented in the form of a unified system
of government calculated to achieve the ideals embodied in the
sacred law..."*
In his self-appointed task of forming and implementing a
relatively moderate social policy which will insure progress,
stability, and relative prosperity, Paysal tried to take up every-
matter himself and make the final decision. The procedure was
slow and tedious, but served to monitor the pace and direction of
social change.
* Matisd Khaddurz,, Arab Contemporaries, the Role of Personalities
in Politics, p. 98.
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Consequently, education in Saudi Arabia is determinedly
paternalistic at all levels. The government strictly controls both
the policy formation and administration of the system, largely
through the Ministry of Education, established in 1954, and the
Office of the Grand Mufti. In theory, the Ministry of Education
is responsible for male elementary and higher Jevel secular education
and institutes of higher learning, while the Office of the Grand
Mufti administers girls' education. However, due to the separation
of secular and religious instruction after the elementary level, the
Office of the Grand Mufti is also responsible for intermediate and
secondary religious schools and religious colleges.
In the Ministry of Education, the chief executive officer is,
of course, the Minister of Education. Directly under him are the Deputy
Minister of Educational Affairs, and the Director General of Education. The
nation is divided into twenty-three educational districts, located through-
out the Kingdom as follows:
Western:
11
Central:
10
Eastern:
2
The director of each serves in liaison between the local schools and the/
Deputy Minister of Educational Affairs and the Director General of
Education. In addition, there are eleven Directorates General within
the ministry, the heads of each reporting to one of the Deputy Mivisters.
Overall administration is the responsibility of the Deputy Minister of
Educational Affairs.
Other ministries are also involved in some aspects of education.
For example, the Ministries of Finance and National Economy
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and of Pilgrimage and Religious Endowments are involved in educa-
tional finance and land acquisition for schools; the Ministry of
Defense and Aviation conducts literacy programs; the College of
Petroleum and Minerals is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth, while the Ministry of Labor is
responsible for several vocational schools. These different in-
stitutes, however, do not operate entirely independent of Ministry
of Education and Office of the Grand Mufti interest.
There are numerous interministerial bodies which coordinate
different aspects of educational administration throughout the
Kingdom. One such body is the Supreme Council of Education, chaired
by the Minister of Education and composed of the Grand Mufti and
other cabinet members. This council coordinates educational pro-
posals, formulates policy, and supervises the educational budget.
A second council, the Supreme Council for the Promotion of Arts,
Sciences, and Fine Arts selects and writes textbooks and translates
additional educational materials. There are also a number of
advisory bodies associated with the Ministry of Education, such
as the National Commission for the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Boy Scouts
Association. All are headed by the Minister of Education and have
officials of other ministries as members.
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In forming educational policy, the government's rigid
centralization of authority requires high-level concurrence on
even seemingly minor decisions, innovations, and deviation from
set policy. All formal legislation bearing on educational policy
or planning must first be submitted to the Council of Ministers
by one of the ministries involved in education or by one of the
interministerial bodies. The proposal is then examined by the
Council, submitted to the Xing, and then issued by him in the form
of a royal order or decree. "Revolutions can come from thrones as
well as from conspirators' cellars." (King Faysal ibn Abd al-Aziz
al-Saud, Time Magazine, 6 January 1975)
The government bureaucracy usually delays, hinders, and often
outright forgets about execution of educational policy. In re-
quiring high-level concurrence for even minor decisions, the local
administrator who is in the best position to judge particular needs
is the farthest from the seat of decision-making. A side effect
of this practice is the lack of career development of middle and
lower level administrative personnel. For the most part, they are
discouraged from suggesting innovation, and as they themselves are never
involved in the decision-making ?rocess, do not develop the ability-
to make decisions or accept responsibility. Those few qualified
forward looking' educators are held in check by their traditionally
oriented superiors. In addition, the Ministry of Education has not
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enjoyed the luxury of filling positions with qualified individuals.
Those qualified Saudis who seek government employment experience
fierce interministerial competition for their talents. The Ministry
of Education, far from the most prestigious in the country, usually
3o5es. In a 1972 evaluation of the educational backgrounds and job
qualification of its employees, the Ministry discovered that, aside
from a few top level administrators with university educations, most
employees in administrative and clerical positions had only an
elementary education.
Saudi educators, products of this isolated educational system,
teach as they were taught. New modern teaching techniques and high
quality classroom materials appear slowly. Learning by rote con-
tinues, re-enforced ey the practice of administering a single end-of-
year exam. Success on these tests depeas on sheer memorization of
class texts and whatever lecture notes the students have amassed.
The consequences of this orientation to learning are visible in the
Saudi's approach to more advarxed studies. In institutes of higher
learning within the Kingdom, libraries are seldom used, independent
research by either faculty or students is the exception, and the
student attitude toward learning is generally regarded as poor. The
abilities to analyze, synthesize, and innovate, stressed in Western
society, are not developed.
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The Saudis have experimented with the hiring of non-Saudi,
Arab and non-Arab, teachers, but this is Far from a complete solu-
tion to the problem. While they are generally better qualified than
their Saudi counterparts, the cultural and psychological problems
facing them in Saudi Arabia limit: their teaching performance. With
no orientation, they are thrust into the classroom. There, as well
as in the community, their presence is regarded as a necessary evil.
They are accorded little status and receive less respect. Few renew
their initial contracts. Strict government controls make the employ-
ment of competent foreigners even more difficult. Anyone suspected
of political views contrary to those advocated in Saudi Arabia)or
coming from a country which does not currently enjoy good relations
with Saudi Arabia, is not granted entrance. Once admitted, deporta-
tion is always a possibility. The fluctuating number of Egyptian
educators over the past years exemplifies this practice.*
Similar fear of foreign political influence affects government
policy on study abroad. Those Saudis who obtain scholarships for
* The Saudi educational system traditionally had relied on Egyptian
teachers and texts. However, in the 1950's with Nassr's "rise to
parer in Egypt and subsequent Egyptian-Saudi hostilities,"the number
of Egyptian educators in Saudi Arabia dwindled. In 1970 relations
between Riyadh and CaiTO began to improve, and by 1971, the Saudi
government was again actively seeking 3,000 Egyptian teachers. The
same pattern can be seen in -;he case of the Palestinians eriployed.
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advanced study outside the Kingdom must keep in close contact
with embassy officials to retain their stipends. In addition,
they are required to return each summer to Saudi Arabia for "re-
:
Saudization." Every precaution is taken to assure that they
progress in their field of academic pursuit without developing
alien political philosophies.
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C. Religion and Education
The secular authority, however, is not completely free in decision-
making and policy implementation. No ruler in a land where Islamic law
reigns supreme can ignore the counsel of the religious doctors, the ulema.
To do so risks domestic political instability. As guardians of the
traditional practices, the ulema remain safely entrenched in the Saudi
government and the traditional culture. Through the regular Friday
sermons which are still well attended, they rail against foreign influ-
ences. Through the mutawi'in, the religious police, they seek to enforce
strict conformity to traditional behavior. As they generally reject all
but the slightest indication of modernity, secular policy makers are
required to slowly and patiently make understood the need for any
specific innovation.
The ulema's voice in education is heard not only through the Office
of the Grand Mufti, but also in the Ministry of Education itself, the
Minister of which is traditionally of the al-Shaykh family, descendants'
of Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi sect of Islam.
Consequently, the conservative religious influence is felt throughout the
secular educational system as well as in the. specifically religious
institutes, as the standard curricula for government primary and inter-
mediate schools in the table shows.
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CURRICULA_OR PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS, SAUDI ARABIA
(Periods per week)
PRIMARY
SUBJECT
INTERNIEDIATE
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
5th year
6th year
Ilst year
2nd year
3rd year
Arabic
5
7
10
10
10
10
7
7
6
Drawing and handwork
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
English language
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
8
8
General science and hygiene
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
3
3
Geography and history
0
0
0
1
3
3
4
4
Mathematics
5
5
6
5
5
5
4
4
-5
Physical training
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
Religion (Islamic)
14
16
12
12
9
9
9
8
8
Total
30
34
34
34
34
34
36
36
36
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The religious influence reaches beyond the curricula, however. It
dominates the entire focus of education. In Saudi Arabia, the expressed
objective off education is a reconciliation between old and modern trends
in education, all in accordance with the Shari'a (Is]amic law) instruction;
maintenance of the customs and traditions of the country, preserving
the social inheritance and adopting only those practices which have
been proven reliable and of a "pure" source; and teaching cohesion of
God's community -- "a believer is the support of another believer, like
a building where each part supports the other part." ("Broad Lines of
Social Training in Schools of the Eastern Province," Shaykh Abdullah
Mohammed Abu-Nuhayn, Director of Education for the Eastern Province,
January 18, 1972.)
Thus, books, publications, and films entering the country are heavily
restricted. Imported texts are carefully scrutinized to prevent exposure
to practices and values contrary to auSterFWahhabi norms of conduct.
Anything reflecting dating and courtship practices or social relations
between the sexes is forbiddm.- ConSequently4 many texts for specific
courses are printed domestically.
In even the most modern secular institute in the country, the College
of Petroleum and Minerals, the administration admits a "psychological
fear" of the power of the ulema.. After determining 'that professional
engineering societies in the United States recommend that at least 25
percent of :the engineering student's time should be devoted to the liberal
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arts, the college continues to carefully avoid the teaching of history
and political science courses recommended
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Exposure to foreigners is also restricted. While the shortage of
qualified instructors has forced the school system to rely heavily on
foreigners, their social influence is contained as much as possible.
Outside the classroom, faculty-student relations, even tutoring, are
curtailed. At the University of Riyadh, for example, foreign faculty
and their families are provided separate and distant sport facilities.
Administrators fear that any association would only expose students to
morally debauching influences.
The Office of the Grand Mufti has direct control over religious
schools in each of the 23 educational districts, administered by the
Directorate General of Religious Colleges and Institutes, and over
female education, administered by the Directorate General of Girls'
Schools. While there is an effort to standardize requirements in lower
level secular institutes and the lower level religious and girls'
schools, the Office of the Grand Mufti sets its own standards indepen-
dent of the Ministry of Education for those institutes under its
jurisdiction.
The girls' educational system exists today only through a government-
ulema agreement in 1960: the ulema would permit the education of women
if, and only if, that sysem were under the control of the religious
leaders. Consequently, girls' education today is generally far inferior
to that of males. The course of study contains a maximum of home
economics, Arabic, and religion, and aminimum of everything else. Post-
elementary students are pushed into teacher training or nursing institutes.
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The segregation of men and women, present in traditional Arab
society and strengthened by the strong traditional influence of the
Wahhabis, makes for a difficult chain of con-munication between girls'
schools and the administration. For example, most high-level admin-
istvative positions within the Directorate are filled by men. Yet,
these very men that administer girls' schools normally are not allowed
to enter them. If a male administrator needs to contact a female
teacher, he must go through the Education Inspectorate in the Ministry
of Education. The Inspectorate, where there are women, passes his
message on. In conducting an inspection or courtesy visit, a male
supervisor usually is guided around a vacant building by the head-
mistress' husband. And, since Saudi women are not permitted to drive,
the school buses that transport girls have to be manned by a husband-
wife team. Higher education for women, approved by the government in
1964, also maintains the strict segregation of the sexes. Women audit
lectures through closed circuit T.V. and have access to library facilities
only on days reserved for their private use.
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III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
Understandably, educational development in Saudi Arabia has moved
only slowly toward the goal of universal literacy and growth of a
trained and competent labor force. The government, although striving
toward modernization, Fears political disruption, whether instigated by
foreign political philosophies, ulema lresistance to any change that
will undermine religious puritanism, or alienation of the traditional
Saudi's support. Faysal's moderation has been criticized by both the
extreme traditionalists and the radical modernists. The first have
denounced him as easy with the licentious, and the second as too slow
in carrying out reform. Nonetheless, a public educational system
exists today where it did not twenty years ago. A general description
of the schools and institutes follows.
A. Elementary, Intermediate and Secondary Levels
In Saudi Arabia, a child begins kindergarten at the age of four
or five. At age six, he enters the elementary stage. While history,
geography, mathematics ,and possibly English are introduced the curriculum
is largely religiously oriented aad stresses classical Arabic and Islamic
studies. Upon completion of the elementary cycle, at age twelve or
thirteen, students are administered uniform examinations by the Ministry
of Education, and if successful, are awarded an elementary certificate.
At that time, a student may continue in the "modern" secular
schools, or elect to attend an Islamic school, administered by the Office
of the Grand Mufti. This secondary cycle of instruction is divided into
an intermediate and secondary level, each taking three years to complete.
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Acceptance into a secular intermediate school is determined by
results of competitive examination, and is thus accessible to only the
better quoliEied students. While religious training and classical Arabic
continue to be stressed, banic courses in science, history, literature
and mathematics are also offered. An intermediate school diploma and
a scholastic average of over seventy percent qualify a student for
enrollment in a secondary school.
Serving as a preparation for college, the secondary school offers
specialization in arts or sciences. The art program requires courses
in two foreign languages (usually English and French), history, literature,
Arabic, geography, and Islam and Islamic jurisprudence. The science
program concentrates on English, physics, chemistry, and biology, with
additional courses in religion and history. A general secondary
certificate of education requires successful completion of all courses
with passing grades of fifty percent.
In contrast to the "modern" path, the religious educational
curriculum is designed for those aspiring to become ulema or qadis.
_
(judges): lAt the intermediate level, the Shari'a Islamic lure, religion,
and social studies are taught. Classical Arabic grammar and rhetoric,
the Shari'a customary law, and theology are emphasized in the secondary
cycle.
, B. Institutes of Higher Learning
Institutes of higher learning are also oi two types: traditional
and religiously oriented or secular. Admission to either sort requires
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a secondary diploma and passing a competitive exagdnaticn. Even with
a relatively small population and a very late start in the field, Saudi
Arabia today accounts for 2.1 percent of all higher education enrollment
in the Middle East and is expanding enrollment at the fastest rate in
the area (q. Ali Kettani, "Engineering E2ucation in the Arab World",
Middle_East Journal, vol. 28 no, 4, Autumn 1974, p. 446.) The table
following shows the number of college graduates, 1967-1971.
The University of Riyadh, founded in 1957, is the first "Western"
type secular institute established by the Saudi Arabian government.
Beginning as a College of Arts and Sciences with nine teachers and 21
students, the University has expanded to include faculties of commerce,
engineering, education, agriculture, pharmacy, and medicine. There
currently are 300 teachers and almost 6,000 students, the. vast majority
of whom are Saudi.
King Abd Al-Aziz University of Jidda was originally founded by Saudi
businessmen and philanthropists as a private business college. It then
grew to include a College of Liberal Arts and a College of Science.
Continuing financial difficulties forced the university to become a
public institution in the spring of 1971. At that time, it was
administratively united with the Shari'a College and the College of
Education in Mecca. The name, King Abd Al-Aziz, was retained for all
three institutes. In 1971-72, there were 425 students enrolled in the
Shari'a College, 540 in the College of Education, and 491 at the university's
Jidda campus.
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pprove or e ease
Graduates of Institutes cf Higher Education (1966/67 - 1971/72)*
-
?
1966/67
1967/68
1968/69
1969/70
1970/71
1971/72
m
females .
1
males
m
i
i
I
cal
i
I
Cti
rg
in
g
ca
o
H
as
H
0
H
a3
H
aS
te i H
0 1 a:1
r-i
cd
as 1 ri
as I oi
ill i
s
c--1
g
+
0'
4-)
? ci a
44
-P
g
ES
o
-P
4-,
o
-P
e
0
-P
E1
as
4-4
H -P
ai i 0
E i -I-)
E HI .4-,
as ai ; 0
c-i
i
I
TOTAL
il
?
?
?
II
?6
lq ?
808
2
80 899
9911o6
1145
Secular:
University of Riyadh
?
Arts
7
52
59
3
52 55
59
66
12 103
115 16
104 120
16
127
141
Commerce
-
' 46
46
2
49 51
17
2
49
51
.1 61
62 2
77 79
2
109
111
Science
-
20
20
27 27
! -
26
26
27
27 -
Go 60
-
73
71
Pharmacy.
-
11
11
- -
-
4
14-
10
10 -
15 15
--
18
18
Agriculture
-
-
- -
-
10
10
22
22 -
16
16
-
14
14
Education .
-
-
-
' -
5
5 -
25
25
-
44
44
Engineering
-
16
16
28 28
-
26
26
25
25 -
34
34
-
36
36
) Medicine-
)
I King Abd al-Aziz
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Economics & Admin.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7
30
37
- Arts
-
-
- -
-
-
-
. -
-
-
-
?7
Shari'a (Mecca) '
-
7
7
33 33
j -
46
46
54
54 - 55
55
-
b
64
Education (Mecca)
15
15
23 23
-
23
- 23
43
43 9 52
Gi
13 6
77
Science
_ ..-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
College of Petroleum and
Minerals '
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
- 4
46
College of Education
-
ifor Girls:
, _ .
---
-
- '
-
-
Religions:
Shari'a (Riyadh)
- 105
105
1
131 134
1
14 143
- 165
165 7
133 133
1 234
239
........Ars:bic Lauguagq (Illyadq. ..--..-. _69
_69.
r.
_6 _69
..-.
io 109
_- 136 136 -
63 . 88
- 104
104
Islamic University(Medina)
Shari,a - 39
39
3.0, 1081
10 108
97 97 -
86 86
-1 7
70
Preaching
37 37 -
49
- 5
53
Pigher Institute of
Jurisprudence Approved Fe
Release
2P05/ 6/13 r
IA-
F5TOs
RD00a117093r4 -
12
--I 1
16 '
c4-.4-4c-E4n_ 1072/71. Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education (latest complete figures available.)
. Approved For Release 2005/06/13 : CIA-RDP8T00608R000600170023-4
The College of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran was established
by royal decree in 1963 and opened in 1964. Administratively under the
Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth, the college's board of trustees
is chaired by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth,. The
college is financed by the Saudi government, major oil companies and
foundation grants.
The college is unique in many respects. It offers a five.-year
course of study which leads to a Bachelor of Science in Applied
Engineering or Engineering Science. Its goal is to maintain the standards
of an American school of technology: admission standards are high,
courses difficult, and the faculty largely made up of American and
English professors. All courses, except those dealing with Arabic and
related studies, are taught in English.
The first year program is largely a preparatory one, aimed at
improving the student's mastery of English. After this first year,
students are either placed in engineering science or applied engineering,
or dismissed. In 1972, there were 922 students, 350 of Whom were newly
admitted "pre-freshmen."
The college has been criticized by tho Ministry of Education for
supplying too theoretically oriented an education and encouraging
students to seek advanced degrees. Consequently, while standa:ds have
not been changed to accommodate the Ministry, the college is extremely
selective in extending the scope of courses offered. The performances
of students transferred to American institutes to complete their
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undergraduate schooling or pursue graduate studies has proved that the
objective of supplying Western technological training in Saudi Arabia
is being met.
Religious Institutes:
Religious institutes of higher learning are under the authority
of the Grand Mufti. Like the lower Islamic schools, the curriculum
emphasizes the study of Arabic, the Koran, Islamic law and jurisprudence..
The schools are supported by government funds and religious endowments, i
There are four such universities.
The Islamic UniveTsity (Medina), opened in 1961, operates two
divisions of higher education: the Shari'a College which offers a four-
year program culminating in a degree in Islamic Law, and a College of
Islamic Preaching (Da'wa). In addition, the university offers programs
below the level of higher education: an intermediate section for
students of other countries who need preparatory courses in Arabic
and Islamic studies, a secondary section :1Jr students who have only an
intermediate level education, and a "House of Tradition" which provides
instruction in Islamic studies and traditions for students of all ages.
Modeled after al-Azhar, the university encourages students from all
other Muslim countries to enroll. In 1972, there were 568 students at
all levels and 29 instructors.
The Shari'a College and Arabic Language College of Riyadh, opened
in 1953 and 1954 respectively, accept only secondary certificate holders
for their three year programs. Courses emphasize Islamic law and theo-
logy and classical Arabic. .
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Established in 1966, the Higher Institute of Jurisprudence in
Riyadh is open to graduates of Shari'a colleges. The curriculum includes
advanced studies in jurisprudence, Islamic texts, and comparative law.
The studies program runs three years. Graduates receive a doctorate in
Muslim law and are qualified as qadis. (judges) for the Kingdom's Shari'a
courts.
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C. Special Education
Adult education was initiated in 1954. Basic courses were offered
to non-Literate adults in night sessions conducted at select elementary
schools throughout the kingdom. The program wasinitiarly limited to the
large population arem. With the rapid expansion of elementary school
construction after 1965, however, the program now operates in all twenty-
three school districts. The originally informal and unstructured
program has developed into a two-part, four-year course. The first
two-year basic phase stresses reading and writing skills. The second
two-year phase provides a basic elementary education. Successful
students earn a standard elementary diploma. In 1973/74, there were
814 locations offering 2,252 classes to 53,923 students.
Vocational training programs have been developed in several
different fields by a number of ministries. For example, with the
supervisory assistance of the International Labor Organization, the
Ministry of Labor opened a Vocational Training Center in Riyadh in
1964. Additional trade schools were then established in Jidda (1966),
Dammam (1966), Buraidah (1968) and al-Jawf (1969). All offer training
in such trades as plumbing, printing, electrical wiring, carpentry,
general mechanics, and radio and television work. The average course
lasts eighteen months. Students must be at least eighteen years old
and have only an elementary level education. While the first graduates
experienced some difficulties in being placed, the reputation of the
centers and the competence of their graduates has grown. All of the
more recent graduates have been placed before graduation.
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There are more advanced training institutes in Riyadh, Hofuf,
Jidda, Riyadh and Medina under the administration of the Ministry of
Education. Admittance requires an intermediate school certificate. The
curriculum at these centers is about thirty percent academic and
seventy percent vocational. Courses are taught in metalwork, electricity,
automobile repair and radio/TV. Graduates of the three-year program
serve as technicians for science and industry, rather than as basic
craftsmen. They are also qualified to teach at the Ministry of Labor's
vocational training centers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education jointly
control agricultural training facilities. Initially, the program was
taugh'r, at an intermediate level in thirty-four schools dispersed
throughout the agricultural regions. This program was modified in 1965,
when the schools were closed and their function replaced by the services
of countryside extension offices. Centers of Complementary Studies in
Riyadh and Th'if now offer a secondary level education in agricultural
studies. Graduates are employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, given
additional, more practical training, and then sent out to man the extension
offices.
The Institute of Public Administration was established in Riyadh ?
in 1962. Although it is usually considervd an institute of higher
learning, it offers no degrees and conducts only short courses. As
the institute's purpose is to supply administrative and clerical
personnel for the Saudi civil service, its courses are in such areas
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as financial affairs, secretarial and office services, statistics,
program planning and development, library skills, and English. A
small number of the institute's students have been sent to the United
States to obtain master's degrees in public administration, library
science, or economics. In response to its own needs, the Municipalities
Department of the Ministry of Interior founded the Training Center for
Technical Assistants. There, instruction is offered in architectural
drawing, supervision, and surveying.
Teaching Training,'
In response to the great shortage of Saudi teachers, the
educational system has established elementary teacher training institutes
throughout the country. These are schools in the secondary cycle, and
therefore require an intermediate certificate for admittance. In
addition, there are two "teacher upgrading centers." These centers raise
teachers who are graduates from the elementary teacher training institutes
of the past or are graduates of the intermriiate schools to the level
of graduates of the new elementary teacher training institutes. Inter-
meeiate and secondary teachers are educated at the university level.
In 1973, there were fifteen such institutes in fifteen separate school
districts.
Special education is also available to the handicapped. Instruction
for the blind is available through the secondary level in Riyadh, through
the intermediate level in Hofuf, Mecca, and Unaizah, and through the
elementary level in Qateef and Buraidah. The Institute for the Blind
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for girls in Riyadh offers elementary and intermediate education. Books
for the blind are printed and published in Riyadh. There are at present
two institutes for deaf-mutes, one for males and the other for females.
Students are admitted at an early age to a preparatory stage after
which they follow a slightly modified elementary program.
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ii
IV. MODERN EDUCATION AND THE TRADITIONAL SOCIETY
The educational system, although mediocre at best, is expanding
at all levels at a rate unmatched in the Middle East. This is
reflected in the growing number of educated Saudis. One may ques-
tion if the present political system, religious order, and traditional
values can endure secular education and awareness of non-Saudi values
and lifestyles.
Essentially, the answer is yes. Education is serving to begin
the integration of isolated segments of the traditionally-oriented
population into the national society. For example, government
stipends to students in adult education courses was, in many cases,
the first time that money, or any concept of money as a means of
exchange, was introduced to the small villages. Awareness of the
central government, increasingly widespread educational opportunities;
and subsequent social mobility has begun to orase the provincialism
that has been an obstacle to national cohesion.* Thus, the sons of
Bedouins can now receive an education, be it technical or academic,
and move to find employment elsewhere, geographically and socially.
Even institutes of higher learning approaching a tedhnical
proficiency equal to their Western counterparts, do not awaken dis-
content and frustration. This is in sharp contrast to other
STAT
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universities in the Arab world. In Lebanon, students at both the
National University and the American University are more frequently
on strike than they are in class, and are showing an increasing
inclination to take to the streets on behalf of various political
causes. In Syria, the ruling Baath party calls upon students to
demonstrate in support of any issue which it feels needs a good
show of public enthusiasm, while in Egypt students have assumed the
self-appointed role of watchdog, emitting occasional growls whenever
they believe the nation's only recognized political party is behaving
in ways c atrary to the public interest." (John Monro, "On Campus
in Saudi Arabia" ARAMCO World Magazine July-August 1974 p. 9) Even
the growing corps of highly educated people in Saudi Arabia, many
returning from advanced study programs abroad, express little real
discontent with the present order.
This lacR of discontent can be attributed to several factors.
First, traditional Moslem society of the Saudi pattern is egalitarian,
characterized by a lack of real class discrimination. While it is
accepted that inequalities of talent and wealth rightly exist as
ordained by God, there is no socially exclusive nobility or aris-
tocracy. In addition, the more fortunate have a responsibility to
the greater community. This continuing concept has provided an
educational system, a means of spreading the opportunities for
economic advancement and social mobility, which is open to all.
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Second, most Saudis are satisfied with the growing avail-
ability of consumer goods and the signs of material prosperity which
are appearing. Economic opportunities are so available that there
is little possibility of personal frustration. While the present
regime is not likely to permit expressed opposition to its authority,
there exists no great public demand for its removal or for broadened
political participation. As long as economic development, the
gradual secularization of society, and social progress continue,
little opposition seems likely.
Third, the Saudi, even after foreign education, is by nature
atypically conservative. Although economic modernization without
major political change seems unlikely to many Western minds, it is
the goal to a greater or lesser extent of a number of Westernized
Saudis. Many modern Saudis retain much of the inner belief if not
the outei form of Islam. To them it is possible and highly desirable
to build a modern Islamic society, retaining the ideological core of
its original lifestyle, as an alternative to an imitation Western
model.
As secular education increases and economic participation follows,
the society is becoming more secularized, impinging on the authority of
the ultra-conservative ulema, ignoring
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some of the traditional customs and restrictions. This does not
necessarily mean, however, that the values of Saudi society can-
not be reconciled with social development.
Faith and change are not mutually antagonistic, To date,
the alliance of secular education and religion, strange in Western
thought, has proven quite feasible in Saudi Arabia. For example,
at the College of Petroleum and Minerals, the most advanced insti-
tute of technology in the Kingdom, students take serious the words
of the Prophet, "God loves those who do their work properly." The
administration feels that "deepening and broadening the faith of its
Muslim students, instilling in them an appreciation for the major
contributions of their people to the world of mathematics and
science" is as important as training those same students in engineering
and science. (JohnNbnro, "On Campus in Saudi Arabia': ARAMCO World
Magazine,July-August 19744. 8)
It is the outward manifestation of the puritanical Kalihabi
order of Islam that is under increased criticism. The religious
police, drafted from the least desirable elements of society, are
particularly resented today. The traditional religious taboos on
smoking and drinking, religious censorship of the information media,
and virtual prohibition of public entertainment cannot be enforced
much longer. Today, the modernized Saudi lives two lives: one
within the sight of the religious authority, one behind closed doors.
The fact that this has become possible makes the situation more
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tolerable. The Shi'a Muslims, a heterodox minority and long the
brunt of unfair treatment from the religious police, are experiencing
increasing religious tolerance. The secular authority, in that case,
realizes that religious injustices carried out in the name of the
government create new generations of young Shi'a willing toppoose
the central authority. The examples of waning religious power are
many. While the ulema today remain strong enough to slow the pace
of social reform, they cannot prevent it. Their power is likely to
erode throughout this decade.
Increased education is also causing the typical Saudi to contest thoSe
traditional practices which infringe on his individual freedom and
social betterment. While ha is not likely to reject his own cultural
values and unquestioningly adopt Westein norms in the process of
modernization, he does seek to incorporate those methods and practices
from the West that are complementary to his modernizing nation.
One area of change from traditional practices, directly trace-
able to educational development, is the status of women. One can
see today (still an exception) women shopping alone or in groups.
Most younger educated men are accompaniod by their wives to social
functions. Foreign women, permitted in the work force,jare now recognized
by their full first name, not a gender-concealing initial. This is hardly
a prediction of a women's liberation movement, co-education, women
working in close proximity to men or in positions felt to be unsuit-
able for their natures. One can see, however, that the rigid. narrow
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role of women is expanding, allowing them a much fuller, produc-
tive, and satisfying participation in modern SauJi Arabia.
In sum, the educated Saudi is not against the principles of
the present order. However, while he does not contest the established
political, religious, and traditional values, he is increasingly
critical of many of the didactic and authoritarian nactices: the
slow political machinery of the regime, the confining
effect of Wahhabi Islam, and some of the social traditions which
are no longer applicable to the emerging Saudi society. If these
desires for change invoke a government response of slow moderniza-
tion and adaptation to present conditions, the educated Saudi is
no threat. If ignored, they may result in resentment of the Saudi
regime.
V. EDUCATION AND THE MANPOWER SHORTAGE
In 1970, the public school system had elementary school
facilities for sixty percent of the male and thirty percent of the
female six-year-old population. Seventeen percent of the male
students and nine percent of the females continued to pursue their
studies at the intermediate level.
The 1970-75 five year plan of the Central
Planning Organization called for 90 percent male elementary enroll-
ment and a doubling in the facilities of girls' elementary education.
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STAT
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In addition, it was hoped that 85 percent of the male and 17 percent
of the female elementary graduates would continue in intermediate
schools.
Although no statistics are currently available, it can be
assumed that the government was not able to meet fully these objec-
tives. They essentially projected a 50 percent increase in the
number of elementary male students, a 100 percent increase in the
number of elementary female students, a seven times increase in male
intermediate enrollment, and a quadrupling of female intermediate
enrollment. This requires a proportionate increase in facilities,
materials, teachers, and administrative personnel. Even if classroom
space and materials could be purchased, the additional number of
trained Saudi administrative and teaching personnel could not be.*
The estimated literacy rate remains betvrt,In 15 and 25 percent.
As the population characteristics in Saudi Arabia are typical of
that of most Middle Eastern countries, the majority of citizens
young and with a life expectancy below that of the West. The children
* For example, by 1970 enough Saudi teachers had been trained to
supply 150 percent of the demand for eZementary teachers. Many of
these individuals, however,/preferred more prestigious., better paying
positions in the public or private sector. Consequently, 43 percent
of all elementary teachers that year had to be recruited abroad. The
shortage of intermediate teachers is even more critical. intermediate
teachers, now trained at the college level, are certain to find more
lucrative employment elsewhere. While the demand for native instruc?
tors is radically increasing, the supply is most likely diminishing.
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of the 1970's are the labor force of the 1980's. Between 1975 and
1985, the educational level of entrants into the labor force will
gradually rise, as the following projection shows:
Educational Level
Less than
Els2atla
Elementary
Intermediate
Secondary
1976
45,419
10,380
2,817
3,531
1977
46,665
10,419
3,371
4,366
1978
46,394
10,859
3,777
4,652
1979
43,378
12,173
4,719
4,912
1980
40,413
13,844
7,459
5,470
1981
38,499
13,892
7,496
5,497
1982
36,842
13,989
8,758
4,486
1983
35,156
15,133
9,592
5,051
1984
35,782
16,109
11,589
5,932
1985
36,242
17,504
12,278
6,755
TOTAL
404,790
134,302
71,856
50,652
STAT
Even the graduates, however, are products of the literacy-oriented,
mediocre educational system and enter the work force with few if any
applicable skills.
Tht, sort of education has not succeeded in modifying the tradi-
tional Saudi's attitudes toward employment in skilled, semi-skilled,
and labor positions. He remains a man "who enjoys his leisure, often
works only to satisfy modest needs, and is not as highly motivated by
material considerations as are other nationalities." (1-abor Law and
Practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, p. 31) The value 0E
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educational and technical skills arc a relatively new concept to
him. His focus in seeking education is not to prepare himself for
gainful employment, but rather to qualify himself for a prestigious,
respected position in the social order. For example, at the Eastern
Province Vocational Training Center at Dammam, the Saudi director
and his International Labor Organization colleague are convinced that
the mentality of the students and their strong traditional views of
"honorable occupation" dominated all the problems associated with
training in vocational skills. Thus, electrical wiring and automeAve
maintenance, portrayed as scientific, fields, remain far more popular
with students than others, such as painting and blacksmithing.
This attitude is not limited to those with little or no educa-
tion. The Saudi with a college degree in geology prefers administrative
to field work, just as the graduate of an agricultural college will
elect to man a government ministry position if offered. Many students
pursuing higher education will do so only until they have saved
enough of their student stipend to buy a taxi and go into business,
two or three days a week, for themselves.
The Saudi worker, if not provided with close and firm, yet
sympathetic supervision, feels no necessity to accomplish work at
any given time. In most industries, labor productivity is held
back by the slowness of Saudi workers and their generally passive
attitude toward work. It was estimated in 1967 that most establishments
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worked at less than fifty percent capacity and suffered high rates
of shut down, operating costs, and management turnover. (Faisal
Bashir, "Survey of the Private Industrial Sector in Saudi Arabia';
Central Planning Organization, Riyadh, June 11, 3968)
In addition, the government continues to be by far the largest
employer in the Kingdom, filling its own ranks with those of minimal
education and offering "honorable" positions to drop-outs. (Ramon
Knauerhase, "Saudi Arabia's Economy in the Beginning of the 1970's",
Middle East Journal, Spring 1974, Vol. 20, No. 2) The government
is also the dominant employer of more highly educated Saudis. This
practice of overhiring at all levels can be seen as a government
measure to distribute wealth through salaries. In doing so, however,
potential laborers and trained talent are prevented from contributing
to the growth of the private sector and participating in the nation's
economic diversification.
Yet, it is this very econoec expansion and diversification
that is so strongly encouraged and supported by the government. With
the unanticipated growth in oil revenues in the 1970's, Saudi Arabia
has obtained the financial resources to undertake large projects for
industrial, military and infrastructure development at an accelerated
rate. If the major projects now planned go into effect as scheduled,
the Kingdom's 'manpower requirements, already far in excess of local
supply, will increase over the next five years. The Central Planning
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Organization has estimated that the manpower needs of 1975-80 will
exceed those of 1970-75 by 43 percent, as indicated below:
Increase in Manpower
Occupational Group Needs 1970-75
'Incrense ID Mannower
Needs 1975-80?'
Manual and Service
Workers
137,710
197,714
Clerical and Sales
Workers
67,500
96,887
Skilled and Semi-skilled
Workers
55,630
79,874
Technicians and sub-
professional Workers
4,580
6,555
Managers and Administrators
3,935
5,658
Professional Workers
2,445
3,512
Total Additional Manpower
271,800
390,200
In every occupational group, the needs are expected to exceed avail-
able Saudis.
Lacking adequate domestic supply, the nation has come to heavily
and increasingly rely on foreign labor. In 1968, the Committee for
Manpower Development and Utilization estimated that 45 percent of all
employees in the six major cities of Riyadh, Jidda, Dammam, al-Kobar,
Mecca, and Medina were non-Saudis. (p. 34, Labor Law and Practice in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) They occupy all types of positions, from
those that the Saudi considers degrading to those for which he has
not acquired the necessary skills and training. In a more recent
survey, the Ministry of Labor found that over 60 percent of the private
work force, excluding the petroleum industry, were non-Saudis.
STAT
The government itself, while terribly
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STAT
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overstaffed by its own hiring policy, fills between 35 and 70
percent of its positions with ,?oreigners -- again, in those jobs
that the Saudi calinot or will not do -- technicians, teachers,
doctors, nurses, clerical workers, unskilled workers, and domestics.
The dependence on foreigners is least critical in the Eastern
province, due to the long presence of ARAMCO and its continued efforts
to recruit and train Saudis.* The percentage change in the nationality
of the ARAMCO work force illustrates the successfulness of their program.
Nationality of ARAMCO Employees in Saudi Arabia*
1952 1967 1970
Saudi 14,819 (61.7%) 9,813 (81.3%) 8,707 (83.3%)
Americans 3,235 (13.5%) 1,284 (10.6%) 904 ( 8.6%)
Arabs (non-Saudi) 2,254 ( 9.4%) 328 ( 2.7%) 258 ( 2.4%)
Indians 1,110 ( 4.6%) 408 ( 3.4%) 295 ( 2.8%)
Pakistani 1,320 ( 5.5%) 227 ( 1.9%) 211 ( 2.0%)
Others 1,268 ( 5.3%) 13 ( .1%) 80 ( .76%)
TOTAL
24,006
12,073 10,455
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No industrial classification employed fewer than fifty percent
nationals, with the exception of the technician supervisory group
(12 to 10 in favor of non-Saudis). However, the following, less
positive characteristics of the work force, nationwide, underline
the critical need for expatriates:
1. The services expatrNtes provide are far
more important than their number suggests. In cases of
maintenance, repair, and emergency, they are essential.
2. The Saudi is far better at managing people,
particularly other Saudis, than in managing ideas or
machines. It is more in keeping with his nature to
derive prestige and satisfaction from a supervisory
position than from the work of a technical specialist.
Again, the services of expatriates are essential.
3. The rate of job mobility is high among Saudis
whose skills are in demand. There is also a significant
turn-over in lower occupational levels and in industry,
where the impersonal, regulated routine is difficult to
accept. (Labor Law and Practice in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, chapter IV. "Manpower Resources".)
In spite of the great need and use of foreign skills,
unemployment among native Saudis is surprisingly low, estimated
at 5.0 to 6.8 percent. This figure, however
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does not take into account the high rate of disguised unemployment
encouraged by government labor regulations and hiring practices in
the public sector. Article 45 of the Labor Regulations of 1969
stipulates that the work force of every firm with over100
employees must be 75 percent Saudi. This 75 percent must receive at
least 51 percent of the payroll. In special cases, the Ministry of
Labor will temporarily exempt a company from this quota system. The
more common practice, however, is the hiring of the prescribed per-
centage of minimally trained Saudis and paying them for "near-zero"
productivity.
Faced with the critical shortage of indigenous labor, one
source of workers remains ignored: women. Although the Labor Regula-
tions of 1969 make provisions for female workers, insuring them equal
pay for equal work, little work is available. The private as well
as the public sector opposes using women in positions traditionally
filled by men. Consequently, the number of women in the work force
remains infinitesimal. The Labor Regulations are currently applied
to the non-Saudi women, usually the wives of foreign workers, who
perform clerical duties for foreign companies. And even then :tin no
case may Omen and women) co-mingle in the place of work or in the
accessory facilities or other appurtenances thereto." (Article
160, Labor Regulations, 1969)
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VI. OPTIONS IN MEETING THE MANPOWER SHORTAGE
Obviously, the educational system's record of achievement has
been below expectation. While the level of education of the potential
labor force is improving, the context of education has changed little
and supplies too few practical skills. If a policy of economic
diversification is to be followed, Saudi Arabia will be faced with
an increasingly acute manpower shortage. How the nation responds to
this problem will determine the nature and magnitude of the effects.
The government today is aware of the importance of the issue.
It realizes that this shortage is the majordetarrent to internal
investment, industrial development, and economic diversification.
It accepts the fact that the problem has no immediate solution, since domestic
measures can have only a limited positive effect. It has already
made some observations and decisions.
First, "a concerted and massive effort Jedicated to the training
and development of the Saudi labor force must be initiated and sus-
tained." (Guidelines for the Second Development Plan 1975-80, Saudi
Arabian Central Planning Organization, p. 184) The national training
objective must be incorporated with the educational effort. The
educational system can become a tool to provide laborers through
intensified programs of adult, rural, military, and vocational
training.
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Second, available labor must be more efficiently allocated.
Studies and projections, such as the Central Planning Organization's
Development Plan, have been made. Regional employment offices are
located throughout the Kingdom. If, in conjunction with these efforts,
interministerial bickering could be reduced and poor communications
among government agencies could be improved, more at least minimally
skilled and educated Saudis would be available to the private sector.
Third, contracts signed by the Saudi government and development
firms and new industries to be located within the country are to include
requirements that training programs be provided to integrate Saudis
into skilled and administrative positions. The hope is that native
expertise and employment will develop as it has in the Eastern Province
through ARMCO. In addition, the Ministry of Labor is expected to expand
its vocational training system and establish a national pre-training
program for early school-leavers. The use of training facilities abroad
is also being considered.
The Central Planning Organization also anticipates a slow growth in
the number of women working outside the home, increasing from 1 percent
of the female population in 1970 to 5 percent in 1990. While there is no
Cultural sanction against women working, as can be seen in rural areas
throughout the Middle East where women perform many non-household tasks,
the life-style which developed with urbanization has largely limited the
female role. .One can judge from the experience in most Arab countries that
the move toward widescale female employment will evolve slowly, and, in Saudi
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Arabia, with cautious supervision. This development will cause no
great social upheaval; rather, female employment -- already beginning
will be the natural sequel to female education. The Labor Regulations
of 1969 anticipated the trend. In January 1972, the government
accepted applications of female intermediate and secondary school
graduates for jobs in several ministries; the first Saudi girl will
be admitted to the School of Medicine of Riyadh University this fall;
a growing number of Saudi girls are working behind closed doors in
offices of private Saudi firms; and an ARAMCO request to begin training
Saudi girls in secretarial and clerical skills was recently approved.
The above developments, supplemented with programs to improve
the Saudi's attitude toward vocational training and remove his
prejudice toward many occupations, will provide an increasingly
larger indigenous labor force. The process is a slow one, however,
and the positive results, even in the most optimistic of estimatespare
dwarfed by the magnitude of demand for labor.
This huge demand will force employment of foreign workers at
increasing rates. The following figures, although low in regard
to non-Saudi workers, do depict the trend if not the full extent of
future dependence on foreign nationals.
Central Planning Organization Projections in millions)
Year Saudi Non-Saudi Total
1980
1.47 (1.41)
.48
1.95
1985
1.72 (1.64)
.65
2.37
1990
2.01 (1.90)
.87
2.88
(Figures in parentheses are males)
Extracted from Saudi Central Planning Organization document, "Guide-
lines for the Five-Year Plan (1975-80)".
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Using this projection, the non-Saudi participation in the
labor force is expected to increase from 17.1 percent in 1970 to
24.6 percent in 1980 to 30.2 percent in 1990. The foreign community,
however, is likely to change in more than just size.
The non-Saudi work force of 1970 was composed largely of
Hadhramis from the Hadhramaut area of Yemen (Aden) and Yemenis
(Sam)! The Hadhramis have been in Saudi Arabia for a long time,
and many have assimilated. ahey are traditionally in trade at all
levels of income. The Yemenis (Sana) are for the most part unskilled
and perform much of the manual labor in the Kingdom. Most of these
workers send high remittances home, often as much as one-half of
their pay. As fellow Arabs and Moslems, essentially migratory and
apolitical, these workers have had no marked political or social
influence on the Kingdom.
Implementation of Saudi Arabia's ambitious economic and social
development plans requires modern skills and technical expertise
which cannot, be supplied through Saudi, Arab, or even entirely
Moslem labor resources. Consequently, a growing proportion of the
In addition to the estimated 120,000 to 150,000 Hadhramis and
100,000 Yemenis, the 1970 work force included: approximately 50,000
Jordanians employed in commercial and managerial posts, 40,000 Syrians
serving as government advisors and providing managerial and profes-
sional skills, 30,000 Lebanese, a few thousand Egyptians, about
5,000 Pakistanis and Indians, 14,000 Sudanese, a few thousand
Ethiopians and Somalis, and 12,000 Europeans and Americans. (Labor
L2W and Practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia p. 33)
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foreign community will be Western oriented, holding political and
religious beliefs, practicing life styles that are quite alien to
traditional Saudi society. In importing necessary skills, the govern-
ment will be introducing a community whose cultural difference will
prevent assimilation and whose number will prevent them from being
hidden or ignored. The government will no longer be able to control
the pace and direction of social change by rigidly restricting those
influences to which the Saudi people are exposed.
? There exists today in Saudi Arabia an increasing awareness that
the degree of social, political and attitudinal change which would
accompany wholesale modernization could threaten the vision of a
modern Islamic state. Rather than moving toward the ultimate goal
of economic diversification and full Saudi participation in the
economic life of the country, "the Kingdom may well find that Saudis
are becoming second-class citizens in their own land -- engaged in
dead-end jobs and earning below-average incomes -- because of the
failure to provide the means to develop their potential and capa-
bilities." (Guidelines for the Second Development Plan 1975-1980,
Saudi Arabian Central Planning Organization, p. 184)
The government must choose between following a path of economic
diversification or postponing those plans until the Saudi people are
more prepared to participate in the economic structure and responsibly
control the form of social change. The first holds the threat of
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unknown social developments; the second, the threat of day when
the one-resource economy will no longer support the state.
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