There is also widespread acknowledgment that the system is failing to produce productive members of society. With 60 percent of Saudi Arabia's population under the age of 18, the kingdom cannot afford passivity in preparing the next generation.
That many Saudis now recognize the scope of their problem is evidenced by a growing interest in private education. At the primary and secondary levels, Saudi business interests are working with Western venture capitalists to set up for-profit alternatives to public education. Multinational consulting companies are quietly exploring opportunities for educational development. The kingdom itself has initiated pilot programs testing different models of public education.
Given local demand and international concern, Washington and Riyadh should capitalize on the Crawford meeting's window of opportunity and lay out commitments for educational reform. Education remains one of the few areas where the U.S. can credibly engage with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's elite are mostly U.S.-educated, and America's educational institutions are still highly regarded.
As one U.S. State Department official recently noted, "America's outstanding academic institutions are as valuable to U.S. national security as is the protection of our borders." It is thus particularly troubling that the number of post 9-11 Saudi student visas to the U.S. declined by 80 percent and has yet to recover. Newly promised presidential attention will help reverse this trend.
In addition to increasing student visas, Washington should continue quietly expanding teach-the-teacher and teach-the-imam programs in the United States and promoting joint ventures like that between Duke University and Effat College, the private women's college in Jeddah.
In return, the crown prince must do more than send a few Saudi students and military officers to the U.S. One of the most important things the crown prince has done over the last two years is sponsor a series of "national dialogues" that have tackled the most pressing issues facing the kingdom: religious intolerance, the role of women and the status of Saudi youth. Although few concrete results have come from these discussions, they have given Saudis permission to engage on these highly sensitive topics in a way that was until recently unthinkable.
That many Saudis now recognize the scope of their problem is evidenced by a growing interest in private education. At the primary and secondary levels, Saudi business interests are working with Western venture capitalists to set up for-profit alternatives to public education. Multinational consulting companies are quietly exploring opportunities for educational development. The kingdom itself has initiated pilot programs testing different models of public education.
Given local demand and international concern, Washington and Riyadh should capitalize on the Crawford meeting's window of opportunity and lay out commitments for educational reform. Education remains one of the few areas where the U.S. can credibly engage with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's elite are mostly U.S.-educated, and America's educational institutions are still highly regarded.
As one U.S. State Department official recently noted, "America's outstanding academic institutions are as valuable to U.S. national security as is the protection of our borders." It is thus particularly troubling that the number of post 9-11 Saudi student visas to the U.S. declined by 80 percent and has yet to recover. Newly promised presidential attention will help reverse this trend.
In addition to increasing student visas, Washington should continue quietly expanding teach-the-teacher and teach-the-imam programs in the United States and promoting joint ventures like that between Duke University and Effat College, the private women's college in Jeddah.
In return, the crown prince must do more than send a few Saudi students and military officers to the U.S. One of the most important things the crown prince has done over the last two years is sponsor a series of "national dialogues" that have tackled the most pressing issues facing the kingdom: religious intolerance, the role of women and the status of Saudi youth. Although few concrete results have come from these discussions, they have given Saudis permission to engage on these highly sensitive topics in a way that was until recently unthinkable.
