JEDDAH, 22 February 2005 — The importance of building the work force for Saudi Arabia for the 21st century was highlighted by Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, dean of Dar Al-Hekma College in a presentation at the 6th Jeddah Economic Forum here.

Suhair said that the Saudi population, which was growing at a rate of 3.3 percent per annum, was estimated to reach 42 million in the year 2020 -- double the number of 21 million last year, and 56 percent of the population would be under 20 years of age.

She said that of the total expenditure on education in 2000, the amount spent on tertiary education was 17.8 percent as against 39.8 percent in 1970. In the same period the amount spent on primary and secondary education was 82.2 percent as against 59.1 percent.

“Saudi Arabia needs to prepare its graduates for the global market,” she emphasized. For that, there has to be restructuring of the higher education strategy, establishment of a strategy of continuous evaluation of the higher education system, and adoption of a progressive educational philosophy that embraces diversity and recognizes traditional values.

This requires a balanced mix of academic freedom, autonomy and neutrality, an open-ended pursuit of rationalist epistemologies and traditional Islamic forms of knowledge, and a structured process of enlightened dialogue.

Suhair stressed that there is a critical relationship between a country’s higher education system and the future prosperity and integrity of the country. “Therefore, there is a pressing need to build a new advanced culture with a deep appreciation of knowledge for its own sake, as well as having a clear understanding of its practical applications in an increasingly developing, competitive and technological global world,” she added.

She said that the budgetary allocation for the education sector in Saudi Arabia was significantly higher than the corresponding average for developing countries (4.9 percent) and the Middle East and North Africa (5.2 percent). Quoting the 2003 UNDP -- Human Development Report, she said budgetary allocation for the education sector in the Kingdom had almost tripled from 3.5 percent of the GDP in 1970 to 9.5 percent in 2002.

Another development that she focused on was that the gender gap had narrowed. “In higher education institutions female enrollment actually exceeds that of the males,” she said. “This indicates a major shift in attitude toward female education, a wider recognition of the importance of education for women, and emphasizes a greater need for employment opportunities for women that are currently restricted to certain sectors,” she added.

Suhair admitted that the increase in the number of female students in higher education also raises issues about the quality of education for women in a traditionally male dominated society, the range of programs offered to female students and the limited facilities and resources.

She said that the challenges faced by the Saudi higher education system include rapid social and economic changes, and the shift from resource based economy to knowledge-based economy.

The Saudi higher education system’s shortcomings include curriculum, teaching methods, resources, faculty qualifications, and compatibility with the labor market requirements.

Also, most universities and research centers in the Kingdom have only minimal activity in the areas of applied and scientific research, and minimal support from the private sector for applied research.

According to the World Bank (1999), the expenditure on research per capita in the Third World is approximately 300 times less than in the developed nations. “In Saudi Arabia, research receives the minimum in funding from the overall expenditure budget for universities,” she said, and added, “When funding is made available, the regulations associated with accessing the funds are made difficult.”