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العربية

Special education

4 years
You study
Learning difficulties, Autism
Jobs
Special education teacher
Average for the education field · Age 25–29
5,800SAR

Average monthly pay in the education field for Saudi bachelor’s holders, GASTAT Labour Force Survey 2024 (1445–1446 AH)3; many earn less. Pay in a first job is usually lower.

Forecasts published in other countries for the occupation Elementary school and kindergarten teachers: roughly stable (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH); Employment and Social Development Canada, June 2025 · Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 – Muharram 1447 AH)1,2. They are not a forecast for the Saudi market, nor by DataPulse.

Where is Special education taught?

Taught at 10 universities: 9 government and 1 private.

Riyadh

Makkah

Eastern Province

Hail

Najran

Al-Baha

From university pages, admission guides and the Ministry’s Study in Saudi platform4. Gender is tagged where the university publishes it per programme.

Compare with…

A side-by-side view, not a judgement that one major is better. Figures are for the broad field, so two majors in one field share the same figures. Figures: bachelor’s, both sexes, 2024 (1445–1446 AH)35

Special educationSubject teacher training (education tracks)Early childhood education
Field in the survey
EducationEducationEducation
Length of study
4 yearsPostgraduate4 years
Taught at
10 universitiesList not checked19 universities
Men
OfferedNot confirmedNot found offered
Women
OfferedNot confirmedOffered
Holders of the field working
90.9%90.9%90.9%
Unemployment in the field
9.1%9.1%9.1%
Average wage in the field (SAR)
11,14711,14711,147
An occupation of its graduates and generative AI
not exposednot exposednot exposed

Availability for men and women from university pages and the Ministry’s programmes platform; last checked 24 October 2026 (13 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).

What do Special education students learn?

Learn how to teach students with disabilities, learning difficulties, and gifted students.

  • Learning difficulties
  • Autism
  • Early intervention
  • Behaviour support

In Arabic: التربية الخاصة

How many years is Special education?

4 years. Length from the programme page on the university website6; it may differ between universities.

What jobs do Special education graduates do?

Examples of graduates’ jobs, not a full or ranked list. A job is an occupation; the major is one route to it:

  • Special education teacher
  • Learning difficulties specialist
  • Educational counsellor
  • Early intervention specialist

You work with special-needs students in a school or centre by day; posts may be far away.

  • Sometimes outside the city
  • Moderate physical effort

Professional teaching licence from the Education and Training Evaluation Commission.

What do Special education graduates earn?

GASTAT does not publish pay for each major; this is the average for the “Education” field among Saudi bachelor’s holders, 2024 (1445–1446 AH)3.

Age 25–295,800 SAR
Age 35–4411,900 SAR

What is unemployment in the education field?

Unemployment among Saudi graduates of the field (bachelor’s, all ages)3:

  • 20211442–1443 AH17.3%
  • 20221443–1444 AH15.6%
  • 20231444–1445 AH11.4%
  • 20241445–1446 AH9.1%

For the whole field, not this major alone. Past measurement, not a forecast.

Official decisions and signals

  • Starting basic salary for a practitioner teacher in government: SAR 7,570 a month. 2024 (1445–1446 AH) (basic, government, first grade)7
  • The job “Special education teacher” is little affected by AI. May 2025 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 AH) (occupation, not major)8

Related majors

All majors in Education · Labour-market figures for all fields
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References

  1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment projections for “Special education teachers” (BLS 25-2050), 2025–2035 (1446–1457 AH).
  2. Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System, “Elementary school and kindergarten teachers” (COPS 41221), 2024–2033 (1445–1455 AH).
  3. General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Labour Force Survey: Saudi bachelor’s holders in “Education”, 2024 (1445–1446 AH).
  4. Programme pages on university websites, last checked 26 October 2026 (15 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
  5. International Labour Organization, global index of occupational exposure to generative AI, May 2025 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 AH).
  6. Dar Al-Hekma University, Special education programme page, last checked 24 October 2026 (13 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
  7. Ministry of Education, 2024 (1445–1446 AH).
  8. International Labour Organization · occupation code 2352, May 2025 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 AH).