Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz met in Jeddah today with Minister of Education Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed, Deputy Minister for Girls' Education Dr. Khudher Al-Quraishi, and a number of other education officials, who are currently holding a conference prior to the start of the new academic year. In his address, Dr. Al-Rasheed pointed out that Saudi Arabia spends 26 percent of its annual budget on education, much higher than most countries.

Crown Prince Abdullah then gave an impromptu speech in which he underlined the importance in the lives of Saudi citizens of Islam and the homeland. He called on the international community to help the Palestinian people who are suffering from injustice, oppression, atrocities and inhuman acts such as have never before occurred, and urged them to be patient, saying God Almighty will help them.
Responding to a question on concerns about the merger of the General Presidency of Girls' Education into the Ministry of Education, Crown Prince Abdullah expressed confidence, at all levels, in the education officials he was addressing. To a question on girls' universities and the fact that there are now 200,000 female students, he gave assurances that both the need for more educational institutions and the creation of new jobs were being addressed.

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