The Case for Saudi Arabia and the Broader GCC Region

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Overview of Education in the GCC RegionIn the past several years, many developing nations, but especially Arab countries, have come to identify a good education system as a cornerstone of economic progress. The urgency for education reform in the Arab world has been manifested in the various initiatives aimed at improving the quality and quantity of education, especially with a rising young population that represents a majority in many countries of the Arab world. Recent years have witnessed many Arab countries making efforts to develop and implement comprehensive education reform programs that can result in a skilled, knowledge-based workforce in line with socioeconomic goals.

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Recent debates on how best to develop the quality of human capital trace back to Article 26 of the United Nations General Assembly’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We draw from this article and postulate the following education framework for the Middle East, based on internationally proven best practices. This framework combines three major dimensions central to education reform:

1. A socioeconomic environment in which social and economic priorities can be translated into a viable education strategy and related goals
2. An operating model for the education sector, in which operating entities, good governance, and funding allow for the sustainability of education goals
3. An infrastructure (e.g., quality teachers and curricula, reliable assessment and performance measures, and a good learning environment) ready to make such goals attainable.

In addition to this framework, an effective implementation represents the other side of the reform coin and requires careful consideration. Effective implementation requires dividing the project into manageable pieces, prioritizing its various processes, ensuring ownership consensus among the stakeholders, and systematically measuring results.

Although there is no single recipe for education-sector reform, the above framework represents an approach that, if followed holistically, should increase the likelihood of success. Thus, any strategy implementation that narrowly focuses on a few elements of the framework—at the expense of others—will likely fall short of providing an optimal reform outcome. This is because each dimensional element is inextricably linked with the others. Countries that adequately connect these dimensions in the mplementation phase of their reform program tend to do well in terms of student achievement and human development indicators, whereas those that exclude them tend to fall short.

The Case for Education There is suffi cient research evidence to show that quality education is not only a major contributor to countries’ economic growth but also an essential ingredient for general human development. In the past half century, education was a key factor in catapulting countries like Ireland, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea to new socioeconomic heights and bestowing on them the status of “ miracle country,” with average real per capita GDP growing considerably since the 1960s.

In the Arab world, there has been much debate about the quality of human capital. These debates question whether education improvement alone is equal to the task of improving the quality of life in Arab societies while enhancing the capacity of the population to meet the challenges of the future.3 Studies related to the development of Arab human capital have provided policy recommendations calling for the need to enhance basic freedoms while establishing a comprehensive knowledge-based society.

Using Singapore and the Republic of Korea as models, many Arab countries are garnering the political wherewithal to focus on education reform. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are no exception. Countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), for example, understand the challenges of the future; in 2004, Saudi Arabia set forth a 10-year strategy aimed at not just economic requirements but sociopolitical needs as well. GCC countries are also taking a close look at Jordan, which initiated its education reform in the late 1980s and has shown good progress.

In April 2007, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) released a draft document of its comprehensive education reform with similar aims. Three main conclusions arise from examining the strategies adopted by these countries, which refl ect their societies’ present and future needs:

• There is increased demand for education at all levels. 
• Changing domestic and international conditions are affecting the socioeconomic environment of Arab countries.
• Successful plans for education must be integrated with other government planning.

Exhibit 1
Average Expenditure on Public Education as a Share of GDP. 1980-2005

Article index

• Overview of Education in the GCC Region
• Exhibit 1 - Average Expenditure on Public Education as a Share of GDP, 1980-2005
• Exhibit 2 - Selected Countries Ranked According to Value of Education Development
• Index (EDI) and Components, 2004
• Exhibit 3 - Saudi Arabia's Official Unemployment Rates
• Exhibit 4 - Labor Force Structure and Unemployment in GCC vs. other countries
• Exhibit 5 - Private-Sector Perception of Education System Outputs
• Exhibit 6 - Discipline/Total Enrollment vs. Sector Labor Force, 2002
• The Case for a Holistic Approach to Successful Education Reform
• Exhibit 8 - Education-Sector Reform Framework
• Exhibit 9 - Description of Education-Sector Operating Entities
• Exhibit 10 - Level of Education Decision Making by Activity in Sampled OECD Countries, 2004
• Exhibit 11 - Teacher-Oriented Initiatives in Singapore’s Recent Education Strategy
• Exhibit 12 - Estimated Share of Total Courses for Selected Countries, 2002
• Exhibit 13 - Innovation and Enterprise Initiatives in Singapore’s Recent Education Strategy
• Exhibit 14 - Flexibility and Choice Initiatives in Singapore’s Recent Education Strategy
• Proper Implementation of an Education Reform Strategy
• Estimating the Length of Time for a Return on Education Investment
• Exhibit 15 - Improved GDP with Moderately Strong Knowledge Improvement
• Saudi Arabia: Implementation of a Holistic Education Reform Strategy
• A Sucess Story of a Saudi Higher Education Institution
• Conclusion
• Resources

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Author Profiles

Nabih Maroun, is a partner with Booz & Company based in Beirut. He leads multi-functional assignments throughout the Middle East, focused on strategic planning, organization, and social and economic sector development. His primary expertise involves public administration development, public policy strategy, large-scale infrastructure development, organizational redesign and change management, turnaround and restructuring, and utilities privatization.

Hatem Samman, is the director of the Booz & Company Ideation Center. He is based in the Middle East. As a lead economist, he has written extensively on policy issues across diverse economic sectors.

Chadi N. Moujaes, is a principal with Booz & Company based in Abu Dhabi. He focuses on public policy strategy, socioeconomic development plans, public administration modernization, large-scale transformation, and performance management.

Rabih Abouchakra, is a partner with Booz & Company based in Abu Dhabi. He focuses on public administration modernization, public policy strategy, large-scale transformation, and organizational development and change management.

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