The Education and Training Evaluation Commission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a comprehensive strategic shift in the professional licensing system for educational jobs, as it approved expanding the scope of obligation to include new leadership and supervisory categories, in addition to unifying the financial structure of fees, in a step aimed at controlling the quality of educational outputs.
Expanding the scope and standardizing criteria
A draft amendment to the professional licensing regulations, published by the authority through the "Survey" platform, reveals that obtaining a professional license will be mandatory for school principals and their deputies, educational supervisors, and student counselors. This decision ends an era in which licensing was primarily limited to teachers practicing in classrooms, thus placing all aspects of the educational process under the umbrella of unified professional standards that ensure competence and quality.
Development context and vision for education
This decision comes within the framework of the ongoing development of the education sector in the Kingdom, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on enhancing the efficiency of human capital. The professional license is a standardized measurement tool designed to ensure that educational practitioners possess the necessary competencies to perform their duties, whether teaching or leadership. Expanding the scope to include school leaders reflects the decision-makers' belief that the quality of education is not limited to the teacher alone, but extends to the surrounding administrative and supervisory environment.
A new and streamlined financial structure
In a widely welcomed move, the new regulations adopted a unified and streamlined financial system, setting a fixed fee of just 100 riyals for all services. This unified fee covers registration for the general education exam or the specialized exam, as well as fees for issuing, renewing, or upgrading professional licenses. This standardization aims to eliminate previous cost discrepancies and simplify financial procedures for all those working in the education sector.
Types and levels of licenses
The regulatory framework adopted four main and independent types of licenses, which are:
- Teacher's license.
- School management license.
- Student mentor license.
- Educational supervisor license.
Licenses were also classified into three progressive levels that reflect professional development:
- Practitioner level: Requires a test score between 50 and 69.
- Advanced level: Requires a score between 70 and 79.
- Expert level: Requires 80 points or more.
These levels were linked to years of experience and academic qualifications, where a bachelor’s degree holder needs experience ranging from 6 to less than 11 years to obtain an “advanced” license, and more than 11 years for the rank of “expert”, with exceptions granted to holders of postgraduate studies (Master’s and PhD) by reducing the required years of experience.
License validity and renewal requirements
The amendments set the license validity period at five years, starting from the date of issuance or upgrade. To ensure continued competence, the authority stipulated that renewal requires recent test results and warned against delays in renewal. The regulations state that failure to renew the license within two years of its expiry automatically converts the application to a "new issuance," necessitating the re-testing and procedures from scratch.
Expected impact on the educational field
This decision is expected to bring about a qualitative shift in administrative and supervisory performance in schools, as it will link promotions and appointments to leadership positions to objective, measurable criteria instead of relying solely on seniority. The decision also enhances transparency and fairness in employment, and motivates educational and administrative staff to continuously develop their skills and knowledge to keep pace with the evolving demands of the educational field.
The authority concluded its regulations with an encouraging touch, granting those who obtained professional licenses before these amendments came into effect an additional free year added to the validity period of their current licenses, in appreciation of their initiative and excellence.
