More than two months ago, Crown Prince Abdullah directed that all girls’ colleges operating under the Ministry of Education be integrated into one university run by the Ministry of Higher Education. Though it was directed, it has not happened, nor do we know of any timetable for it to become reality. No doubt there are the usual obstacles responsible for the delay — administrative bureaucracy as well as the usual justifications normally cited as reasons. Up to now there has been no change in the Ministry of Education’s policy regarding girls’ colleges. The authorities at the ministry are still carrying on with the same old programs and they certainly give the impression that the project’s implementation is anything but imminent.
While people have been waiting for the girls’ university the Ministry of Health surprised every one by unilaterally making a decision allowing it to assume the responsibilities of the Ministry of Higher Education. The minister of health unveiled plans for opening a college of medicine under the jurisdiction of his ministry as well as opening a women’s nursing college and upgrading 10 health institutes to the status of colleges. According to ministry advisers, the annual fees for the new college of medicine will be from SR60,000 to SR120,000. The reason given for such high fees is that the ministry owns the hospitals where the students will receive their training.
This is indeed a very dangerous precedent that could open the way for other government bodies to follow suit and infringe upon what has always been an exclusive monopoly of the Ministry of Higher Education. That ministry continues to maintain silence about the issue. The justification given by officials at the Ministry of Health may encourage other government sectors operating hospitals, including the ministries of defense and interior and the National Guard, to open colleges of their own. Who knows? A day may come when we see the Ministry of Municipal Affairs opening colleges of engineering, architecture and urban planning or the Ministry of Agriculture opening its own colleges.
If things continue this way, all of our ministries would turn into ministries of higher education which means chaos in our education system.
The failure of the Ministry of Higher Education to meet the country’s needs in certain areas of specialized studies is no excuse for other government departments to open their own colleges without proper coordination and with no rules governing the activities.
