Saudi Arabia: Higher education sector undergoes revamp

Higher education sector undergoes revamp
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH: Forty-five health colleges and five health institutes for girls that were hitherto under the Health Ministry would be brought under universities in respective cities, it was announced yesterday.

“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved the plan,” said Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari. He said the king has also approved the establishment of 17 new colleges in different parts of the country.

“Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie proposed the transfer plan in order for the ministry to focus on health services,” Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani, the ministry’s spokesman, told Arab News.

Al-Anqari said the newly approved colleges were designed to meet labor market requirements. They include a college of administrative sciences and finance in Abha, two colleges of business administration in Arar and Jizan, a dental college in Jizan, three colleges in Rabigh for medicine, engineering, and computer science and information technology.

Rafha will get a college for pharmacology while Al-Ahsa will get a applied medical sciences college. A college of engineering will be opened in Dawadmi and a college of computer science and IT in Majmaa. A college of architecture and planning will be established at Qassim University, a college of languages in Najran University, a college of administrative sciences and tourism at Umm Al-Qura University and a college of Engineering at Imam University.

Al-Anqari said 20 education colleges for girls outside Riyadh would be shifted from the Women’s University in Riyadh to King Saud University. “These colleges are situated in towns that already house colleges of King Saud University and it will be easy for the university to supervise them,” Al-Anqari said. The community college in Al-Kharj has been shifted from Imam University to KSU on the same grounds.

“King Abdullah’s approval has also been received to open new departments at universities,” the minister said. They include departments for maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, preventive dental medicine and dental education at Taiba University’s College of Medicine, medical education department at Tabuk University’s College of Medicine, and department of architecture at the College of Engineering of Najran University.

Speaking about other decisions taken by the Higher Education Council and approved by the king, Al-Anqari said a nanotechnology center would be established at Taiba University in Madinah while a medical research center would be set up at Jizan University. Imam University will get an applied linguistics center while King Saud University’s College of Nursing will have a research center.

He said the terms of several university undersecretaries have been renewed for three years. They include Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Suwayan of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; Dr. Saeed Mohamed Rafae of King Khaled University; Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Surrani, Dr. Talal Al-Halawani and Dr. Osama Abdul Aziz of Taiba University. Dr. Abdullah Al-Shathry and Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Dawood have been appointed new undersecretaries at Imam University, and Dr. Saeed Aseeri at King Khaled University.

---Arab News