Saudi Arabia recognises 659 schools under national evaluation programme

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education building in Riyadh, photographed in 2011 — not the venue of the school excellence awards. Photo: Albreeze, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; resized for web display.

Saudi Arabia's Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) has recognised 659 public, private and international schools for achieving the excellence standard in its national school evaluation programme.

The schools were recognised during the Tamayuz 2026 National Forum for School Excellence, held in Riyadh on 2 November 2026. The event brought together education officials and representatives of schools recognised through the evaluation system.

ETEC's programme assesses school performance through a national framework that includes educational quality and institutional development. The recognition applies to schools that achieved the stated excellence level rather than to every school evaluated.

The announcement provides an indication of how Saudi Arabia is using formal evaluation and accreditation processes to monitor and encourage improvement across different school sectors.

Read the Saudi Press Agency report on Tamayuz 2026

Photograph source and licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

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