Al-Qassim Province

Area and Population

Al-Qassim Province Arabic: Al Qam [lqsim]), also spelled Al-Qaseem, Al-Qasim, Qassim, or Gassim, is one of the thirteen administrative provinces of Saudi Arabia. Located at the heart of the country, and almost in the center of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a population of 1,016,756 and an area of 65,000 km. It is known to be the "alimental basket" of the country, for its agricultural asset. It is the seventh most populated province in the country after the province of Jizan. It has more than 400 cities, towns, villages, and Bedouin settlements, ten of which are recognized as governorates. Its capital city is Buraydah, which is inhabited by approximately 49% of the region's total population. The governor of the province since 1992 is Prince Faisal bin Bandar.

Location
The province is located in the center of Saudi Arabia approximately 400 km northwest of Riyadh, the capital. It is bordered by Ar Riyadh Province to the south and east, by Ha'il Province to the north, and by Al Madinah Province to the west. The region is connected to almost every part of Saudi Arabia by a very complicated network of highways. The regional airport, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport, connects Al Qassim (Gassim) to the other provinces of the country.

Geography
Al Qassim province is divided by the Wadi Al-Rummah (Rummah Valley). The valley crosses the entire region from the west to the northeast. It is the longest valley in the whole Arabian peninsula, it stretches for about 600 km (370 mi) from near Medina, to the Thuayrat Dunes in the east, and northeast of the region. The land's height in Qassim is about 600750 meters above sea level, and it is gliding from west to east in general.

Education
The region is served by schools in every city and town for all three educational levels (primary, intermediate, and secondary), and includes various types of school (public, private, Quranic international), with international and private schools being mainly concentrated in the cities of Buraydah, and Unaizah. Although there are many colleges in the region, there is only one university, Qassim University, which is located between Buraydah and Al-Bukairiyah at the heart of the region.

Levels of education:
The religious scholars who are in charge of education are responsible to open one of the rooms or appendices to his home to teach pupils and called the role of Quranic schools where it takes the teacher wages as much capacity parents, it pays pack firewood every weekend and the other offers something of dates when you cut palm and other offers wheat or barley at harvest and pay them penny or half penny per week who have the money, it also offers student Zakat al-Fitr which belonged to his teacher, If a student is qualified to graduate from one of the role of the Quranic schools prepared for him celebration "khatmahs" the completion recited the Quran. It is the role of advanced Quranic schools in Buraydah old:

1 - Sheikh Abdullah Ibrahim Battees, who died in the year 1337 AH

2 - Sheikh Mohammed bin Saleh Wahaibi, Open of the year 1336 AH 3 - Sheikh Nasser bin Suleiman bin Saif, deceased in the year 1339 AH 4 - Sheikh Saleh School of Mohammed Saqabi, who died in the year 1358 AH 5 - Sheikh Mohammed School bin Abdullah Hoeml, who died in the year 1376 AH
The education is not limited to boys, but for girls share of education, where many of them adapted education after graduation, and among the most famous Quranic schools, which opened in Buraydah old for women:

1 - Umm Al-Hazza South Mosque of Mohammed Saleh Al-Mutawa 2 - girl'm the Satam West Buraidah 3 - Umm Al Fawzan near a mosque feast 4 - Um Al-Dakhil Allah west Nasser mosque 5 - Haila School sword 6 - Umm Saqabi School
This formal education began in the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God rest his soul, thanks to God and thanks to his insightful look to the importance of education for the Liberation of the children from the island of ignorance and illiteracy to the light of learning and knowledge, which lit darkness the long wished to remove.

General Education
The beginning of education in the Qassim region was through Quranic schools, a school and civil thought that underlie some of the men of science of the imams and judges did not show a clear and significant only after Asttab of the rule and obedience to the rule of Al-Saud. Formal education in the Qassim region began formal education in Qassim within the royal order establishing nine schools share was Qassim two and one in Buraydah and the other in Onaizah and that in 1356 AH and in 1375 was issued a ministerial decree establishment of the Department for Education Qassim was the first director of education is Mr. / Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammed Tuwaijri and the number of schools when creating the Department of Education 47 schools and the number of 3233 students. The evolution of the number of schools, students and teachers continues to grow until it reached as follows in the 1422 academic year 1423 the number of primary schools 252 and Intermediate School 146 schools and 82 secondary schools.

Higher Education
The most prominent universities and colleges that have been created in the region: Qassim University and its affiliated colleges

Technical College Buraydah Colleges of civil Qassim Buraydah Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Rass International College of Health Sciences Buraydah College of Food and Environmental Buraydah Technical Higher Institute for Girls

Cities

Buraydah is the official capital of the province, with about 49% of the population residing in the city. The palace of the province' prince is located in the city, along with other governmental centers. It is the seventh largest city (by population) in the country with a total population of 609,000 (2010 census).

Unaizah is the region's second largest city, total population of 163,000 (2010 census). The city is ruled by Al Sulaim dynasty, in accordance to a written treaty between them and the Saudi royal family, the city is known to be center of religion and culture, thus making Al Qassim Province as a whole to be known as a center of religion and culture. The city is famous for its tourist attractions and festivals.

Ar Rass is the third largest city in Al Qassim Province by population, total population of 133,000 (2010 census). It is also thought to be the largest city in Al Qassim Province by area. It has an area of about 60 km

There are also other nearby rural towns including Almethnab, Al-Bukairiyah, Badaya'a, Al-Khabra, and Nabhaniya.