RIYADH: The decision of the Council of Ministers to establish the independent National Center for e-Learning (NCeL) reflects the interest of the king and crown prince in the education sector, said Dr. Ahmed Al-Issa, education minister and NCeL chairman.Deputy Education Minister Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Assami spoke on Al-Issa’s behalf at a ceremony organized by the NCeL on Monday to launch the Saudi Resources Network for Open Educational Resources and the fourth edition of the Excellence Award in e-Learning at the Education Ministry.The NCeL’s goal is to control the quality of e-learning in education and training in support of a knowledge-based economy in line with Vision 2030, said Al-Issa.The excellence award “has stimulated and encouraged educational institutions to increase the wealth of the country with open educational content,” he added.“More than 75 educational institutions have contributed more than 80,000 educational resources, and 1,000 university faculty members and teachers in general education provided the network with 15,000 educational resources,” Al-Issa said.“The educational institutions launched more than 10 competitions to encourage teachers to produce and disseminate educational resources, and held 34 training workshops attended by more than 2,500 educational specialists,” he added. “We in the NCeL are also pleased to invite universities, educational departments, faculty members and teachers to participate and compete in the fifth edition of the Excellence Award in e-Learning.”Al-Issa congratulated the winners of the award’s fourth edition, and thanked them for their exemplary work.NCeL Director General Dr. Abdullah Al-Muqrin said: “The ultimate objective of the NCeL is to support outstanding experiences in e-learning to pave the way for a promising future through fair competition, broad horizons and hard work, to achieve the aspirations of Vision 2030.” He thanked all universities, educational and training institutions, and individuals for their participation.