Some say that as in employment, in education also priority should be given to Saudi citizens. I totally disagree. I am against making education a divisive tool by denying it to some who do not happen to fall into a certain favored category. Education is a necessity for survival in today’s world. It is not the same as employment so when differentiating between citizens and non-citizens in terms of education, different rules should apply.
In virtually every country, there are restrictions on employing non-citizens. Education, however, is a different matter and access to it should be counted as a human right. That is why developed nations provide free education, not only for their citizens but for every legal resident.
In Britain, for example, public schools admit foreign students who are in the country, permanently or temporarily. Education is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 and schools are not allowed to discriminate against anyone based on nationality or residence status. Both my sister and I attended public schools in Scotland during the 1980s without our parents paying for it. Many Saudi families in the city where I lived sent their children to public schools with the children going to Saudi schools on weekends. Saudi Arabia is neither a neighbor nor a member of the European Union and yet, Saudi children living there enjoy free education. Some Saudis consider it unacceptable for the children of our Arab and Muslim brethren to be admitted to our cramped public schools. Those who can afford to do so send their children to foreign schools, thus denying them the opportunity to receive a proper Islamic and Arabic education. I know many non-Saudi girls who have attended Saudi schools and have come away with a good impression of the country and its people. They feel a strong attachment to the Kingdom, unlike those who studied at international schools and had little contact with Saudi girls.
Some writers also find it unacceptable that non-Saudis who earn high marks are allowed to enter math and science classes while many of their Saudi classmates end up in humanities classes. Admission to any class should be based on marks earned and not whether the student is a citizen or not.
Even the Ministry of Education has an unacceptable policy here. According to ministry officials, admitting foreign students is governed by “mutual interests” that govern relations between the Kingdom and sisterly and friendly countries.
This indeed is a shocking justification. Instead of viewing education as a right for everyone who lives legally in the country, the ministry bases its stand on diplomatic considerations. We have lost a great deal by turning our universities into Saudi-only institutions. Universities should serve as places where people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds come together, interact and learn from each other. Turning our schools into Saudi-only institutions means future generations will be denied the opportunity to interact with others. I was lucky to have such an opportunity. My classmates represented 10 different nationalities.
If we seek meaningful educational reforms, we first must understand the meaning of education — and the benefits that cultural diversity brings.
