By Ritika
As Saudi Arabia faces increasing challenges in attracting and retaining qualified teachers, schools in the country are turning to higher salaries and advanced recruitment strategies to address the shortage
Schools worldwide are experiencing a significant shortage of skilled teachers, and Saudi Arabia has now emerged as one of the latest countries to be grappling with this challenge.
While the shortage is less pronounced in public schools, a growing number of private institutions, particularly international schools, are facing the heat.
Saudi Arabia currently has more than 500,000 teachers working in 30,000 plus schools, including public, private and international schools. These numbers are only expected to grow in the coming decade due to major initiatives and a heightened focus on educational reforms as part of the Vision 2030 policy. The Kingdom is set to see investments of more than SR12.4 trillion (about $3.31 trillion) into its overall economy under the Vision 2030 framework.
The Saudi government is increasingly focused on boosting private sector participation to improve the quality of education, aiming to transition from a provider to a regulatory role. This has had its impact as private investors are showing a keen interest in the Saudi education market, with more international schools opening branches in major cities. According to a report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, while private schools offering international curricula grew by about 24.4% between 2018 and 2022, private schools licensed by the Royal Commissions increased by 46.2% during the same period. Knight Frank also estimates that there could be at least 214,000 additional private school seats by 2035, which it describes as a “mere conservative estimate” based on organic population growth.
