The President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Moaddi bin Muhammad Aal Madh-hab, stressed the importance of the new academic calendar in achieving the objectives of optimal knowledge investment for students and supporting their skills, in line with the requirements of the educational curricula. This is in addition to its effective contributions to accelerating the completion of the academic stage for outstanding students, creating opportunities to address poor achievement, and raising the efficiency of the educational staff. The aim is to enhance the educational process and improve its outputs according to the best international practices and in line with the aspirations of the wise leadership–may Allah support them–for the education sector in the Saudi Kingdom, both general and university education.

The President of the University said that the new academic calendar shows the determination of the Ministry of Education and its ability to convert crises into achievements, in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, through the continuation of the distance education process and by setting up an integrated strategy for the safe return to campus, while working on developing improvement plans for the educational streams and publicizing them early. He indicated that the education sector is moving towards global leadership, taking steady steps based on the training of human resources and the development of the educational curricula and technologies in a way that consolidates the Islamic moral values ​​and strengthens national cohesion among the UQU students.

He also added that Umm Al-Qura University is one of the first institutions of higher education to apply improvement programs and review curricula and study plans. This is thanks to its distinguished human resource cadres and the availability of a suitable educational environment and modern technical capabilities that enable it to keep abreast with the continuous developments which the Ministry of Education seeks to implement. Such steps aim to attain fruitful results in developing students' outputs and providing them with the tools to deal with the various variables of the labor market and its needs.

Moreover, the President of the University highlighted the enrichment benefits of the new academic calendar decisions, along with the educational curricula, and its role in building the personality of the young Saudi men and women and expanding their perceptions to draw their professional future according to their desires and aspirations, in light of harnessing the interest in increasing the learning outcomes in the kingdom to be within the international standards of education. He also praised the lauded efforts of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad bin Muhammad Aal Al-Sheikh, and His Excellency the Vice President for Research and Innovation, Dr. Muhammad Al-Sudairi, as well as their continuous support in enhancing education in the kingdom.