Saudi Education Reforms: Flexible Hours, AI, Training

The Ministry of Education is rolling out a wide package of reforms for the new academic year, introducing variable working hours for teachers, expanding artificial intelligence in classrooms, and launching one of the largest professional development efforts in the Saudi education system.

Under the new model, teachers' working time is tied to each school's timetable and operational plan rather than a single fixed national start and end time. Teachers may leave once they complete their scheduled teaching, grading, and supervision duties. The Ministry is revising the Hudoori smart attendance system so recorded hours reflect each school's specific schedule, and starting from the new year a teacher's presence ends with the conclusion of the school day as defined by the approved schedule, with in-person professional development sessions held at day's end.

The reforms also include a strict ban on educators teaching outside their specializations, while more than 37,000 educational and administrative staff are being promoted.

Training and AI

The Ministry plans to train more than 240,000 male and female teachers and staff under the Human Capability Development Program, up from over 60,000 in the previous year. A new digital professional development platform is being launched to serve around 500,000 education employees with continuous remote training.

On curriculum, 22 subjects are being revised and 50 AI educational units added to strengthen student AI literacy. The Ministry is also piloting AI tools to reduce teachers' administrative workload, in cooperation with SDAIA and local AI company Humain, alongside a unified Education Portal to streamline processes.

For families in Riyadh, Jeddah, and across the Kingdom, the changes aim to give teachers more time to focus on teaching while modernizing what students learn, part of a broader national push already delivering AI and digital-skills training to tens of thousands of educators.

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