Expanding and modernizing educational resources in Saudi arabia

In 1952, the United Nations reported that Saudi Arabia had 306 elementary schools, but illiteracy was between 92 and 95 percent. To combat such dire statistics, a Ministry of Education was established in 1953 with Prince (later King) Fahd as the first minister of education entrusted with the task of expanding and modernizing educational resources. The kingdom was divided into school districts, each governed by a superintendent assisted by a technical staff. Within the Ministry of Education, a special department, Popular Culture, was created to combat adult illiteracy. In 1958, the Saudi kingdom adopted a uniform educational policy in cooperation with other Arab states that provided for a six-year compulsory elementary education, a three-year optional intermediate education, and a three-year optional secondary education for men only. In 1961, education for women was mandated, with the responsibility given to the newly created General Directorate of Girls Education. There was considerable resistance to female education within the kingdom, but it abated and during its first decade, 16 primary schools for girls were built with 148 staff members educating 5,200 females.