Yes, our universities are dying. There is little room for doubt — especially in light of the Saudization program’s failure coupled with the inability of our college graduates to perform the private sector jobs that are still held by expatriates. Some of those jobs do not require a college or university degree; in fact, a high school diploma or secondary school certificate would do. Take for example secretarial jobs. All that is required is knowledge of English and computer literacy — in other words, how to store information. Most expatriates with even an intermediate education possess those skills and are paid about SR1,500 for using them. A job in accounting requires some experience in programming. I don’t know of any valid reason why a Saudi business college graduate couldn’t do the job. Surely a business college graduate has been taught something about accounting.
This doesn’t, however, seem to be the case. A visit to any private sector company will reveal accounting jobs being done by expatriates. There may be various extenuating circumstances here but it is generally known and admitted that the standard of our graduates falls lower every year. The drop in standards began soon after the end of the oil boom in the early 1980s. At that time, there was a sharp decrease in the number of scholarships for our students to do postgraduate courses and studies abroad. The Ministry of Higher Education is now experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers for the country’s colleges and universities. According to a recent report, the total number of Saudi university professors is only about 4,100 and, of this number, 623 are associate professors. In contrast, there are some 9,000 expatriates working in Saudi universities and colleges.
It is no surprise that we have a flood of foreign universities coming here to attract Saudi students. From Canada alone 26 universities sent representatives to the recent Middle East Education & Training Exhibition and Symposium; also attending were representatives from France, the UK, the US, Australia, India and even the United Arab Emirates. All are eager for a piece of the Saudi market. They have all realized how hungry Saudi youth are — especially the financially able — to receive the kind of education that is not available in their own country. But what about those students who are mentally able and enthusiastic but lack finance? Have we reached the point at which, as former US President Jimmy Carter said, only the rich can give their children a proper education?
