RIYADH, 23 February 2003 — Responding to the educational dilemma of Saudi students, the British Council has announced a new four-year UK bachelor’s degree to prepare Saudi undergraduates for direct entry into the British university system.
“The UK4 is the best route to the degree course for school leavers in the Gulf states and is being offered by a consortium of 10 leading British universities designed for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states,” Marcus Gilbert, deputy director of the British Council, and Education Promotion Manager Ibrahim Al-Najjar, told Arab News.
To be eligible for the UK4 course, Saudi students should have secured good marks in the Thanawiyah Al-Amaa (secondary education) and be proficient in English.
In order to bring Saudis up to par with other secondary students, the first year concentrates on improving IT skills, English and other areas. During the next three years the students concentrate on physics, chemistry or engineering or, alternatively, business studies, management, computer science and information technology, with a strong vocational orientation.
Al-Najjar said enrollment for the new course, which is recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education, will begin next month, in time for the September academic session. “We have already launched a pilot program at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. At least 20 percent of the Saudi undergraduates in the US could move to the UK to take up the new course,” he said.
