خصخصة التعليم.. حين تصبح المدرسة مشروعاً للمستقبل

Let's first agree on something important: privatizing education does not mean that the state abandons its responsibility towards its children, nor does it mean that the school turns into a store, and the student into a customer, as some imagine every time they hear the word "privatization."

What is happening in Saudi Arabia today is completely different.

We are witnessing a redefinition of the state's role in the educational process; the state remains a legislator, organizer, supervisor, and guarantor of quality, while opening the door for the private and non-profit sectors to participate in building, operating, providing services, and innovating new educational models.

This is exactly what can be read in the education system, which organized the participation of the private sector, including foreign investment, and allowed the delegation of some educational tasks or the management and operation of some educational institutions to the private and non-profit sectors. (Experts Committee at the Council of Ministers).

The question here is: why is this transformation important?

Because public education, no matter how large its budgets, operates within a massive system with its own requirements, procedures, and bureaucratic cycle. Meanwhile, the private sector has a different advantage: speed, flexibility, and competition.

When competition enters a sector, the question for the operator becomes: how do I provide a better service? How do I attract the student? How do I retain the outstanding teacher? And how do I use technology to reduce costs and improve quality?

Here lies one of the most important benefits of partnering with the private sector.

Instead of the state bearing the entire cost of establishing, operating, and maintaining every school, part of this expenditure can be transformed into long-term partnerships and investments, while maintaining oversight and standards in the hands of the state.

The published figures indicate that this issue is no longer just an idea on paper; the Ministry of Education has pointed to the importance of the private sector's role as a major driver of development by contributing to the provision of 200 contracts for establishing private schools and providing 160,000 school seats, in addition to partnerships in school nutrition, sports facilities, project management, transportation, and digital transformation.

Prior to that, the Ministry of Education announced the opening of 120 new schools through the partnership model with the private sector, and it also indicated the issuance of 199 foreign investment licenses for international educational companies, in a clear indication that the Saudi education market is heading towards a completely different phase.

But the most important benefit, in my opinion, is not financial, but rather the competition for the minds of Saudi students.

When operational models diversify, and specialized, technical, sports schools and schools for the gifted expand, the single educational model will no longer be the only option for millions of students who are already different in their abilities, inclinations, and talents.

This aligns with what we need in the new labor market. We are no longer in an era where it is enough for a student to obtain a certificate and then stand in line for a job. This is because the economy of the future seeks skill, creativity, language, technology, and problem-solving ability.

Therefore, the success of the partnership with the private sector should not only be measured by the amount of money that the state will save, but by a more important question:

Did we produce a better student?

If the partnership with the private sector succeeds in raising the quality of the school, improving teacher performance, expanding options for families, and linking education to the needs of the economy; then we have not privatized education. Rather, we have done something much more important: we have invested in the Saudi citizen who will shape the post-oil economy.