More than 16,000 new students chosen for program

The 8th stage of the Custodian of The Two Holly Mosques’ scholarship program initially accepted 48 percent of its applicants.
According to Naser Al Fouzan, the deputy for scholarship affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education, all acceptance arrangements for this year’s program were set by the ministry. He pointed out that despite the density sheer number of applicants, the first screening showed that only 16210 students met the required conditions and were primarily accepted. The total number of applications to the program via the internet from July 22 - Aug. 3 were 33,940. Al Fouzan said that by mid-August all initially accepted students would be informed through text messages and be referred to auditing centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Medina, Abha, and Buraidah to match their documents and identifications in preparation to announce the final results.
Al Fouzan also pointed out that the ministry included new specialties in light of its annual evaluation’s outcome, to meet the job market demands in both the government and the private sectors.
A few of the specialties include maritime transport, engineering, navigation, space marine and ports.
“Preparatory programs, which the ministry carries out each year, will start in Nov., where scholarship candidates meet and are briefed on accommodation conditions and provided with necessary legal and academic information in the countries they are going to,” said Al Fauzan, adding that such meetings represent the final steps in the scholarship program procedures before they depart.