JEDDAH, 30 January 2006 — Though Saudis who want to study in the US face difficulties in getting visas, many still insist on going there. However, a number of students who are not studying in the US suggested other countries as places for studying.

“Many countries offer the same, or very similar, quality of education,” said a Saudi studying in Lebanon.

When Arab News questioned parents and students about studying abroad, their primary concern was safety and then financial matters. Many also felt that cultural similarity was something to be considered.

“If there were an emergency, I’d feel better knowing that I could get to my son or him to me as soon as possible,” said a father of two.

It used to be very expensive for parents to send their sons and daughters abroad at their expense but now things have become easier. The Ministry of Higher Education is providing some 15,000 scholarships, according to Al-Watan.

The ministry is offering scholarships to students in a variety of countries. This allows students and their parents to decide which is the most suitable. There are a number of choices in addition to the US, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

“Why go West when we can go East? India, for example, is nearer and comparatively cheap. It is also a country in which both medicine and engineering rank very highly in comparison to Western countries,” said Samirah, a Saudi mother who has lived and studied in India.

Embassies and consulates must obviously play an important role in helping students to enroll in a college or university outside the Kingdom. Among the representatives of the embassies and consulates that explained their educational system is the media spokesperson at the Canadian Embassy, Andrew Turner.

“Each year, Canadian universities welcome more than 100,000 new students from around the globe. Canada’s universities are noted for offering education of the highest caliber and are internationally recognized for the quality of their faculties and research. Tuition and the cost of living in Canada are low compared to some other countries,” said Turner.

Khalifa Saeed, tourism and support services manager at the South African Consulate, said that large numbers of Saudis had come to study in South Africa. He explained that due to international exchange rates, South Africa offers real educational value for money.

In addition to sponsoring college fairs at which the facilities and institutions in their countries are featured, some spokespersons asked Arab News to encourage Saudi students to ask them about educational matters. Students are also advised to visit the official government websites, many of which are written in several different languages, including Arabic.

The assistant director at the Australian Embassy provided the following link http://studyinaustralia.gov.au.