Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
In Saudi Arabia, the official entry age for pre-primary education is 3 years old. Between 2013 and 2024 the net enrolment rate for pre-primary education rose from 11.01% to 26.50%. Data on the number of years of free and compulsory pre-primary education are not available.
Governance
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is the central government authority responsible for regulating and supervising the pre-primary education. The ministry sets education policies and curriculum standards and allocates resources to government schools nationwide, including for early childhood education. Pre-primary education targets children under the age of six and is delivered through a mix of public and private provision. In addition, MOE leads initiatives and projects to expand and develop kindergartens using material, human and financial resources through its General Department of Early Childhood.
Tuition-free status
Public kindergartens are free to attend and are prohibited from charging students.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Saudi Arabia maintains a highly centralised education governance and financing framework in which the Ministry of Education manages the allocation of funds from the national budget, while regional education directorates function mainly as a middle administrative layer implementing and supervising in schools, rather than as fully autonomous entities with their own education budgets.
2. Education resources to institutions
No evidence was found of equity-targeted government subsidy mechanisms allocated directly to public pre-primary institutions.
3. Education resources to students and families
Grants for enrolling children in private kindergartens
The Ministry of Education supports early childhood education through voucher type support linked to private kindergartens. Vouchers are provided for private ECE institutions with the aim of increasing enrolment in underserved areas and for those with special needs, therefore expanding the supply of early childhood education places and promoting more equal enrollment opportunities. In 2017, 5,165 places were allocated at ordinary kindergartens and 3,291 places allocated for special needs kindergartens. Allocation is administered by the state-owned Tatweer holding company. No recent data on beneficiaries was found.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Administered by The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), a government fund mandated to support the training and employment of the national workforce in the private sector, the programme aims to provide a targeted early childhood education subsidy by covering part of the registration fees for children enrolled in accredited centers through the Qurrah portal. The subsidy covers 50% of the booking value, capped at 1,600 riyals per child per month until the child reaches the age of six, and is restricted to Saudi nationals who are registered with GOSI, employed in the private sector, and earn monthly wages below 8,000 riyals.
