Across 20 television channels and online, the Saudi Ministry of Education is preparing to launch the largest virtual school in the world as classes resume despite the ongoing global pandemic.
Education Minister Hamad Al Sheikh announced the kingdom’s plan for virtual schooling in a press conference held in Riyadh on Wednesday.
“The ministry benefited from the last [academic] year’s experience as a basic starting point. Distance education and e-learning are no longer an option, rather, it is a necessity that all societies need,” he said.
“The government … believes that education is the focus of change in the kingdom and its people, it is the source of community development for all ages and distance education is part of this development in the educational process.”
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He said the ministry was prepared to launch the “My School” project with e-learning and 20 channels bringing together all levels of education at all stages of the learning process. Six million students are expected to tune in daily for classes from ages at primary, intermediary and secondary level.
School will begin at seven in the morning with the usual pattern of the day, beginning with the national anthem before children go to their virtual classes as per their schedules. They will greet their teachers and be assigned homework and extra-curricular activities before tuning in to watch streamed classes.
Mr Al Sheikh said that in conjunction with the virtual online schooling, the Ain satellite channel's 20 stations will broadcast classes for each stage of the studying process.
He said classes will be rebroadcast in the evenings in case students miss key elements and Ain's YouTube channel will be regularly updated with lessons and extra explanation videos.
He stressed the importance of the role of parents in supporting their children during the distance education experience. “Parents involvement is generally a key indicator of a successful virtual school experience,” he said.
“Simply put, virtual schools work better when parents take an active role in their child’s education,” he said on Wednesday.
Classes begin on August 30 and the ministry will assess the situation after seven weeks.
The kingdom on Wednesday registered 1,363 new cases of coronavirus and 36 more deaths pushing the infections tally to 302,686 with 3,506 deaths.
