Saudi Arabia to teach English from the fourth grade

Riyadh: Following years of debate, Saudi Arabia has decided to start teaching English starting from grade 4 effective by the next school year.

“English language shall be taught at both boys and girls public schools from the fourth grade effective in the coming new 2011-2012 school year,” said a decision adopted by the Saudi cabinet during its weekly meeting on Monday.

The meeting was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

The decision asked the Ministry of Education to take all necessary arrangements including preparation of trained English language teachers. Moreover, the cabinet authorised the ministry to study the possibility of teaching the language in earlier grades.

The debate over whether to teach English language at the Saudi public primary schools has been running for years. Some religious hardliners have opposed teaching foreign languages in primary school fearing that it would negatively affect students capabilities in Arabic language and Islamic studies.

Advocates of teaching English say that that the language plays vital role in preparing the younger generation for the workforce which is dominated by English-speaking expatriates.

Before 2004, teaching English in Saudi government schools began at the seventh grade, which is the first level at intermediate schools. In 2003, the Saudi cabinet took a decision making English a compulsory subject from grade 6. The decision became effective during the school year 2004-2005.

Private schools, which are under the direct supervision of the Education Ministry, teach English as a subject from grade one, while private international schools teach all subjects in English.

It is worth noting that the Saudi state budget for the 2011 fiscal year focused on education as 25.9 per cent, or 150 billion rials, of the entire budget designated for education and training alone.