On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future (40 page)
Read On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future Online
Authors: Karen Elliott House
Tags: #General, #History, #Political Science, #Social Science, #Anthropology, #Cultural, #World, #Middle East, #Middle Eastern
•
Failing Grades
1.
No less an exemplar:
Koran 62:2.
2.
At that time, only 2 percent:
Helen Chapin Metz, ed.,
Saudi Arabia: A Country Study
(Washington, D.C.: GPO for the
Library of Congress, 1992), Education, p. 1,
countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/
, accessed March 7, 2010.
3.
In comparison with students:
“Mathematics Achievement of Fourth and Eighth Graders in 2007,”
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
, table 1,
nces.ed.gov/timss/table07_1asp
, accessed May 16, 2011.
4.
Native Saudi male teachers:
Consultant to the Ministry of Education, interview by author, Riyadh, January 13, 2009.
5.
This helps explain:
Dr. Mohammad A. al Ohali, deputy minister of educational affairs, Ministry of Higher Education, interview by author, October 6, 2009.
6.
In a country where more than 60 percent:
Michaela Prokop, “The War of Ideas: Education in Saudi Arabia,” in Paul Aarts and Gerd Nonneman, eds.,
Saudi Arabia in the Balance
(New York: New York University Press, 2005), p. 77.
7.
More alarmingly:
Dr. John Sfakianakis, “Employment Quandary: Youth Struggle to Find Work Raises Urgency for Reform,” Banque Saudi Fransi, February 16, 2011, p. 3.
8.
At 137 billion Saudi riyals:
“Saudi Arabia Promises to Support Economic Recovery in 2010,” Middle East North Africa Financial Network,
Arab News
, December 24, 2009, p. 2,
www.menafn.com/qn_print.asp?StoryID=1093291161&sub1=true
, accessed March 4, 2010.
9.
At the elementary school:
Metz,
Saudi Arabia
, p. 2.
10.
Indeed, Saudi educational policy:
Ibid.
11.
As a result of this educational:
Abdulwahed al Humaid, deputy for planning and development, Ministry of Labor, interview by author, Riyadh, February 8, 2007.
12.
Saudi schools weren’t always:
Tewfiq al Saif, interview by author, Dammam, February 20, 2007.
13.
The religious leaders departed:
Abdul Mohsen al Akkas, former minister of social affairs, interview by author, Al Khobar, March 22, 2011.
14.
When Nasser, a nationalist:
Abdullah Uthaimin, historian, King Faisal Foundation, interview by author, Riyadh, February 16, 2008.
15.
“Invading a country”:
Ghazi al Gosaibi, minister of labor, interview by author, Riyadh, January 29, 2008.
16.
“I always referred to Abdullah”:
Ibid.
17.
Teachers were sent:
Faisal bin Muammar, deputy minister of education, interview by author, Riyadh, April 13, 2009.
18.
“If you are serving”:
Visit to School 48 in Riyadh by author, April 26, 2010.
19.
The new textbooks:
Naif H. al Romi, deputy minister of educational planning and development, Ministry of Education, interview by author, Riyadh, April 19, 2010.
20.
By contrast, in the tiny:
Ibid.
21.
While Saudis came to the United States:
Ambassador Adel al Jubeir, e-mail to the author, February 26, 2012.
22.
Determined to reverse that:
P. K. Abdul Ghafour, “Over 106,000 Saudis Get King Abdullah Scholarships,”
Arab News
, March 13, 2011,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article316284.ece?service=print
, accessed May 15, 2011.
23.
To try to jump-start:
Shafquat Ali, “KAUST: King’s Gift to the World,”
Arab News
, September 24, 2009,
www.arabnews.com/services/print/print.asp?artid=126714&d=24&m=9&y=2009&hl=KAUST:kingsgifttotheworld
, accessed September 24, 2009.
24.
On campus, most students:
Visit to KAUST by author, October 18, 2009.
25.
“Throughout history, power”:
KAUST press release, available at
kaust.edu.sa
.
26.
By one estimate, fully 70 percent:
Majlis Ash Shura member who asks to be anonymous, interview by author, Riyadh, January 30, 2008.
27.
“There is no critical thinking”:
King Saud University professor who asks to be anonymous, interview by author, Riyadh, February 16, 2008.
28.
“Students aren’t curious”:
King Saud University professor who asks to be anonymous, interview by author, Riyadh, October 11, 2009.
29.
The regime is seeking to make up:
“Saudi Arabia Promises to Support Economic Recovery in 2010,” Middle East North Africa Financial Network,
Arab News
, December 24, 2009, p. 2,
www.menafn.com/qn_print.asp?StoryID=1093291161&sub1=true
, accessed March 4, 2010.
30.
“On a visit to Hail”:
Former official of city of Hail who asks to remain anonymous, interview by author, Riyadh, January 11, 2009.
31.
The girls who tried to flee:
“Saudi Arabia: Religious Police Role in School Fire Criticized,” Human Rights Watch, March 14, 2002,
www.hrw.org/en/news/2002/03/14/saudi-arabia-religious-police-role-school-fire-criticized
, accessed May 15, 2011.
32.
There are some outposts:
Visit to Ahliyya School in Dammam by author, March 22, 2009.
33.
“The time has come”:
Maha Fozan, interview by author, Riyadh, October 13, 2009.
34.
“A woman is allowed to speak”:
Muhammad Abdul Kareem al Eisa, minister of justice, March 2, 2010, written response to a question asked in an interview by author, Riyadh, January 19, 2010.
35.
The kingdom’s 5.5 million:
Salah al Amr, vice governor for development, Technical and Vocational Training Center, interview by author, January 25, 2009.
36.
even though between 2002 and 2006:
Dr. Muhammad A. al Ohali, deputy minister of educational affairs, Ministry of Higher Education, interview by author, Riyadh, October 6, 2009.
37.
“Families put kids”:
Ibid.
38.
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, minister:
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, interview by author, Riyadh, April 15, 2009.
39.
Easier said than done:
Stephane Lacroix, telephone interview by author, March 6, 2009.
•
Plans, Paralysis, and Poverty
1.
Two out of every three people:
Abdulwahed al Humaid, deputy minister for planning and development, Ministry of Labor, interview by author, Riyadh, January 26, 2010.
2.
And in Saudi Arabia’s anemic:
Adel Fakieh, minister of labor, interview by author, Riyadh, February 5, 2011.
3.
In 2011, thanks primarily:
“Economy: Saudi Arabia,”
The World Factbook
, CIA, 2012,
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html
, accessed March 9, 2012.
4.
As a result, on a per capita income:
“Country Comparison: GDP Per Capita (PPP),”
The World Factbook
, CIA, 2012,
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html
, accessed March 9, 2012.
5.
“By 2030, foreign assets”:
Brad Bourland, “Saudi Arabia’s Coming Oil and Fiscal Challenge,” Jadwa Investment (July 2011), p. 1.
6.
Not only is unemployment:
John Sfakianakis, “Employment Quandary: Youth Struggle to Find Work Raises Urgency for Reform,” Banque Saudi Fransi, February 16, 2011, p. 3.
7.
but 40 percent of all Saudi citizens:
Senior officials at two separate ministries, interview by author, Riyadh, 2010.
8.
The king’s decision to institute:
Muhammad Ibrahim, “SR500bn Social Spending Package Outlined,”
Arab News
,
March 18, 2011,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article321419.ece?service=print
, accessed March 26, 2011.
9.
With this latest largesse:
John Sfakianakis, “Holding Back: State Spending Focus Restrains Private Sector, Diversification,” Banque Saudi Fransi, May 17, 2011, p. 2.
10.
Indeed, adjusted for inflation:
Ibid., p. 7.
11.
So while the private sector:
Sfakianakis, “Employment Quandary,” p. 3.
12.
The previous plan called:
Ibid., p. 5.
13.
Now, as in the days:
Dr. Muhammad al Zolfa, member of Majlis Ash-Shura, interview by author, January 24, 2009.
14.
One may well wonder:
OPEC Net Oil Export Revenues, OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet, Energy Information Administration,
www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/OPEC_Revenues/Factsheet.html
, accessed July 7, 2009.
15.
down to $215.3 billion in 2010:
John Sfakianakis, “Quota Counting: New Saudi Employment Rules to Shake Up Private Sector,” Banque Saudi Fransi, June 14, 2011, p. 9.
16.
“At least 85 to 90 percent”:
Dr. Khalid al Falih, CEO Saudi ARAMCO, interview by author, Dhahran, March 21, 2009.
17.
A 2011 survey of three hundred projects:
“Only Three Percent of Projects Finish on Time: Study,”
Arab News
, May 19, 2011,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article415376.ece?service=print
, accessed May 20, 2011.
18.
Arab News
,
the kingdom’s major:
Ghazanfar Ali Khan, “King Lays Foundation Stone for Women’s University,”
Arab News
, October 30, 2008.
19.
but it actually had cost 20 billion:
Ghazanfar Ali Khan, “World’s Largest University for Women Opened,”
Arab News
, May 16, 2011.
20.
One sad snapshot:
“Patents by Country, State, and Year—All Patent Types,” U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (December 2010), p. 3,
www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_all.htm
, accessed May 17, 2011.
21.
“We want to move from”:
Dr. Khalid al Sulaiman, deputy minister of industry, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, interview by author, March 30, 2009.
22.
In addition to the new Industrial:
Dr. Turki Saud Mohammed al Saud, vice president for research institutes, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, interview by author, Riyadh, March 28, 2009.
23.
A Higher Education Plan:
Dr. Muhammad A. al Ohali, deputy
minister of educational affairs, Ministry of Higher Education, interview by author, Riyadh, October 6, 2009.
24.
Yet in 2009 the government:
Sfakianakis, “Employment Quandary,” p. 3.
25.
For instance, a business procures:
Abdulrahman Zamil, interview by author, Riyadh, January 18, 2011.
26.
Of course, occasionally:
Mishaal al Tamimi, “In Visa Scams, Crooks Become Victims,”
Arab News
, March 31, 2011,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article336633.ece?service=print
, accessed May 16, 2011.
27.
This illegal conduct:
Saleh al Rasheed, “This Business Will Finally Ruin Us,”
Arab News
, April 28, 2011,
arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article375117.ece?service=print
, accessed April 28, 2011.
28.
If the private-sector workforce:
John Sfakianakis, “Holding Ground: Saudi H2 Economic Outlook Sound in Face of External Stress,” Banque Saudi Fransi, June 14, 2010, p. 8.
29.
A survey by the Riyadh Chamber:
Steffen Hertog,
Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2010), p. 251.
30.
Some 60 percent of university:
Sfakianakis, “Employment Quandary,” p. 6.
31.
More recently, the government has:
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, minister of education, interview by author, October 25, 2009.
32.
“I pity my children”:
Badea Abu al Naja, “Unable to Pay Rent, Makkah Family Live in Tent,”
Arab News
, May 11, 2008, p. 3.
33.
The latest five-year development:
Salah al Amr, vice governor for development, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, interview by author, Riyadh, January 25, 2009.
34.
Everything is state of the art:
Visit to High Institute for Plastic Education by author, Riyadh, January 28, 2009.
35.
One sign of how badly:
Monera al Aloula, assistant deputy governor of training, Girls Technical College, interview by author, Riyadh, February 7, 2007.
36.
Remittances from expat workers surged:
Sfakianakis, “Holding Ground,” p. 8.
37.
Yet more than three:
Ayman Kanaan, vice president for the Industrial Steel Products Group, Zamil Steel, interview by author, Al Khobar, January 24, 2010.
38.
To meet government goals:
Ibid.
39.
“When you build”:
Abdulrahman al Zamil, interview by author, Riyadh, February 17, 2008.
40.
“My brother wanted”:
Abdulrahman al Zamil, interview by author, October 10, 2009.
41.
“I would put him”:
Ali al Qahtani, manager of Haram Store, interview by author, Riyadh, January 14, 2010.
42.
“It is not permitted”:
Rima al Mukhtar, “Saudis Shocked by Fatwa Banning Women Cashiers,”
Arab News
, November 1, 2010,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article177726.ece?service=print
, accessed May 16, 2011.
43.
The state has “fundamentally”:
Hertog,
Princes, Brokers
, p. 259.
44.
While the government claims:
Official at a prominent financial institution, interview by author, Riyadh, April 15, 2009.
45.
But the estimated waiting:
John Sfakianakis, “Under Construction: Saudi Steps Up Efforts to Meet Home, Loan Demand,” Banque Saudi Fransi, March 20, 2011, p. 3.
46.
Lower-income Saudis:
Ibid., p. 5.
47.
As revolutionary winds swept:
Muhammad Ibrahim, “SR500bn Social Spending Package Outlined,”
Arab News
, March 18, 2011,
arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article321419.ece?service=print
, accessed March 26, 2011.