JEDDAH, 3 April 2005 — More than 300 women became victims of an education scam when they discovered that their nursing diplomas were worthless in the job market.
The nursing students had graduated from an illegal medical institute, paying SR48,000 for the two-and-a-half-year course. But no health facility would accept their unrecognized diploma, Al-Watan newspaper reported.
Muhammad Mabrook, father of one of the aggrieved students, said the girls had enrolled at the institute, situated in the heart of Jeddah, after they were assured that it had the recognition of the Ministry of Health. The institute had also advertised its British diploma course in nursing.
Families took the matter to the Ministry of Health which put the blame on the Ministry of Education. When approached, Muhammad Al-Enaizi, an official at the ministry, said: “The institute is unrecognized and the Education Ministry is not responsible for this mess.”
What is amazing is that most of the employees at the institute are hair-cutters and beauticians who have nothing to do with health care or nursing as the Health Ministry later discovered.
