RIYADH, 20 December — The Ministry of Higher Education has issued a license to a private company to establish a medical, pharmaceutical and dental college in Jeddah.
Classes will start in three years after the completion of buildings and laboratory facilities in compliance with specifications set by the ministry for running the college, said Shali Al-Jadaani, president of the Jeddah-based Al-Jadaani Medical Group, which has been issued the license.
Three hospitals run by the group will provide training facilities for students.
The college, which will be named Ibn Sina Private College for Medical Sciences, will enroll 100 students for the medicine course and 200 for pharmacology in the first year. The dental department will start functioning only two years after the opening of the other two departments.
The number of students will increase as more facilities are introduced in line with the directives of the ministry. However, their number will be less than that in government-run medical colleges, Al-Jadaani said.
The group’s president will keep 70 percent of the shares and the remaining shares will be owned by members of his family.
The ministry stipulates that the final approval of the college will be granted only after an exclusive college hospital has been established. As per regulations governing private companies, the Ministry of Commerce should approve the company that launches the college project.
The college will cater to the needs of a large number of Saudi secondary school graduates who aspire to study medicine and related subjects.
Saudi Arabia's first private university, to be named after Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, is set to open in the summer resort of Taif. The project is awaiting official approval.
