JEDDAH, 9 June 2004 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd has approved plans to create three new universities from existing university branches in Qassim, Taif and Madinah.
Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari said the new Qassim University will be established merging the branches of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) and King Saud University in the region.
The IMSIU and King Abdul Aziz University branches in Madinah will be merged to form Taiba University. The Umm Al-Qura University branch in Taif will form the nucleus of the new Taif University.
The government has earmarked SR63.65 billion ($16. 97 billion) in this year’s budget for education and manpower training including the three new universities.
Dr. Al-Anqari had earlier announced plans to establish 23 new colleges including three medical and dental colleges, five health colleges and 11 science colleges.
He said higher authorities had approved a medical college in Taif, a nursing college in Dammam and an engineering college in Qassim. Six new community colleges will be opened in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Baha, Najran and Alkharj this year.
The government has given the green light to the setting up of two new private universities and 36 private colleges, slated to attract SR3 billion in investment.
There are already six private colleges in Jeddah, Riyadh, Abha and Al-Baha. The new colleges will be set up in Riyadh and Jeddah and other areas including Tabuk, Hail, the Eastern Province, Buraidah, Madinah, Qassim and Taif.
One of the private universities is an affiliate of Riyadh Charitable Foundation for Sciences, which owns Prince Sultan Private College for Boys and Prince Sultan Private College for Girls in Riyadh as well as Prince Sultan Private College for Dentistry in Riyadh. The other, Dar Al-Faisal, is affiliated with King Faisal Charitable Foundation which owns Effat College in Jeddah and Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Hotel Management in Abha.
