JEDDAH, 17 November — The Supreme Economic Council and the Council of Ministers have agreed to allocate SR2 billion to establish a number of technical, community and girls’ colleges in various parts of the country.
This was disclosed by Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari, who said he expected that the new allocations would be made in the next annual budget which will be unveiled in early January.
The minister believed that the establishment of new colleges would help find seats to the growing number of secondary school graduates in the country.
He said that the opening of private colleges in various parts of the Kingdom and the admission of external students to take the university exams will also solve the problem of a shortage in places at Saudi universities.
The number of secondary school graduates intending to join institutes of higher education increases every year. Among 18-year-olds, the number of secondary graduates rose from one out of 10 in 1980 to one out of five in 1990 and one out of two in 2000.
Meanwhile, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh will hold a seminar on the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd in the service to Islam in January.
Dr. Suleiman Aba Al-Khail, undersecretary of the university, recently chaired a meeting of the seminar’s preparatory committee. The seminar will be attended by prominent personalities from within and outside the Kingdom.
