Saudi Education Minister: Blended Learning to Become the Norm

Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh speaks at the media briefing on The Education Continuity in Times of Crises at the International Media Center in Riyadh
Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh speaks at the media briefing on The Education Continuity in Times of Crises at the International Media Center in Riyadh
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Saudi Education Minister: Blended Learning to Become the Norm

Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh speaks at the media briefing on The Education Continuity in Times of Crises at the International Media Center in Riyadh
Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh speaks at the media briefing on The Education Continuity in Times of Crises at the International Media Center in Riyadh

Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh expected on Sunday the beginning of a new era in education where “blended” courses would be the norm while the previous method would be the exception.

The coronavirus pandemic caused different problems for countries with different resources and different infrastructure, he told a media briefing on The Education Continuity in Times of Crises at the International Media Center in Riyadh.

“No one in the world had expected that 1.6 billion students would be outside of schools,” said the minister on the second and last day of the G20 Leaders Summit.

“Some countries have less resources and some don’t have the capability in order to launch satellite TV for their students or have a learning management system,” he added.

Al-Sheikh told journalists that Saudi Arabia used satellite transmission beside Madrasati, the learning management system, to guarantee the continuity of education during the pandemic.

He said six million students from public and private schools are using the same platform in Saudi Arabia to learn online.

But he expected "the beginning of a new era where blended education would become the norm, while the previous method would be the exception.”

The blended method means that students spend several days at school and at other days learn at home to limit the number of pupils and teachers in schools and to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

The concept of distant learning and e-learning has changed because of COVID-19. “So a crisis created an opportunity for the whole world,” said the minister.

This will lead to the internationalization of education, he added.



Trump Says May Visit Saudi Arabia Next Month

US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Says May Visit Saudi Arabia Next Month

US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump takes part in a signing of an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May in what will be the first foreign trip of his second term, with stops also planned in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"It could be next month, maybe a little later," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Four sources briefed on the matter said mid-May was being looked at as the timing for the trip. Trump made Saudi Arabia and Israel the initial stops on his inaugural foreign trip during his first term in 2017.

Topics likely to be discussed include Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, one source said.

Saudi Arabia has played a prominent role in US foreign policy, including hosting US ceasefire talks with Russia and Ukraine.

"An opportunity for international travel for the president is something that is being looked at. We don’t yet have a specific plan, and we will provide that information when it is official," a White House official said ahead of Trump's remarks.