The Education and Training Evaluation Authority announced the launch of standard tests for university graduates, “Jahiziya”, which target students in the last year of the bachelor’s level, as part of the projects of the program to raise the readiness of higher education graduates for the labor market. These tests will continue until June 6, 2023.
The tests – which are applied for the first time in the history of university education in the Kingdom – aim to measure the level of graduates’ attainment of the required learning outcomes in their specializations, and to know the extent of their readiness to engage in the labor market, and to provide universities and public and private colleges with reports that show their strengths and opportunities for improvement, and these tests are not related to the success of students. or their failure.
Standardized exams for this year include 13 university majors, namely: (finance, accounting, marketing, finance and investment, risk and insurance, banking and financial markets, computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, information systems, information technology, cybersecurity / information security, artificial intelligence), and the number of students targeted by these exams is approximately 17,000 male and female students, and the exams are held in 200 sites belonging to 48 universities and colleges inside Saudi Arabia.
These standardized tests come in implementation of the decision of the Universities Affairs Council, which includes circulating the standardized test with the aim of evaluating the outputs of knowledge, skills and values of graduates in various disciplines. This is to measure the level of quality of operations and outputs by conducting tests on a sample of university graduates every three years, provided that the Education and Training Evaluation Authority undertakes the implementation of these tests.
The “Jaheziya” program sets a specialized framework that represents the minimum level of knowledge, skills and values for each specialized field, through cooperation between scientific teams from universities, and specialized teams from representatives of national agencies and relevant private sector agencies, and then building standardized tests for graduates in the light of that framework. specialist.
The “Readiness” program aims to measure the outputs of academic programs and contribute to improving them. It also aims to enhance graduates’ acquisition of the knowledge, skills and values (learning outcomes) required for each specialized field, and raise their readiness to join the labor market, by enhancing the alignment between the outputs of academic programs and the requirements of the labor market. This contributes to reducing unemployment rates and achieving one of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
The Authority followed a specific methodology for building specialized standards, which consisted of looking at distinguished international experiences, identifying national needs in the labor market, and consulting employers and academic experts.
The document of specialized standards and learning outcomes contains the minimum number of specialized knowledge units. Thus, the Commission confirms that the specialized standards document represents the minimum required learning outcomes in each discipline, ensuring the improvement of outputs and giving sufficient space to academic institutions for innovation and excellence in the contents of their programs and study plans.
More than 40 entities from government and private sectors participated in the implementation of this program, such as: the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, the Capital Market Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Authority for Efficient Spending and Government Projects, the Financial Skills Center at the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, and Al Ahli Bank. SABIC, and the Saudi Organization for Auditors and Accountants, for financial and accounting majors.
In information technology disciplines; The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SADAA), the National Cybersecurity Authority, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), the Advanced Company for Technology and Cybersecurity, and the Saudi Digital Academy participated.
The Authority works according to its mission and objectives, in cooperation and integration with government institutions. To contribute to raising the quality and efficiency of education and training in a manner that contributes to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and the objectives of the Human Capacity Development Program.
