The biggest injustice some parents do their children is to force them to enroll in a college course — even if the course is one the child has little or no interest in. Of course, family influence is important in preparing the children for education and developing a career. Youth derive many of their attitudes about education and careers by interacting with their families. However, forcing children to go to a certain college and major in a certain subject just because this is the wish of the family can — and does — often lead to unpleasant results.
This is one of the problems associated with education in the Kingdom. Many families insist on determining the kind of education and thus the lives their children should lead without allowing the children to share in the decision-making process when it comes to determining their own future lives. Trying to control children by forcing them to do what the parents want, regardless of what the children want, is a mistake made by many parents in this country.
The problem is further compounded by the complications associated with college admission. These complications are the creation of those in charge of higher education.
The requirements associated with admission to our universities are so rigid that students find it difficult to enroll in the colleges of their choice. In some colleges — such as medicine, engineering and computer sciences — the requirements are so unreasonable that the hopes of many students are shattered and they find themselves forced to choose other areas of study and specialization.
Of the thousands of students who apply for college every year, many of whom have scored near perfect marks in the school certificate examination, only a few are accepted.
The result is evident in such sectors as health, engineering and computer studies which still rely heavily on expatriate workers.
We continue to recruit thousands of doctors, medical staff and nurses from outside the Kingdom, many of who may have questionable academic records. Cases abound of physicians who have been discovered practicing for years with forged certificates.
The same applies to engineering and computer studies where thousands of foreigners dominate while our students face difficulties in studying these two fields.
Thousands of medical and engineering students graduate from Cairo University which occupies a piece of land far smaller than the vast stretches which our universities occupy.
If our universities continue to perform as they do now, graduating very limited numbers of medical, engineering and computer students, it may take us hundreds of years to attain self-sufficiency in these important areas.
