During the past week Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has been in both Taif and Al-Baha to see for himself the state of affairs in each areas and to inaugurate various development projects. These included hundreds of kilometers of new roads, new dams, wells and water distribution networks. But the lions’ share of the projects are educational. The foundation stone was laid in Taif for a new science and technological university; a similar ceremony took place in Al-Baha for another new university. New technical colleges were begun in both places and so too were technical institutes for women, a college for leisure and tourism in Taif, at least nine other vocational training institutes and, in Al-Baha, 31 schools for boys, 21 for girls and another 63 educational projects.
This is a massive increase in Saudi educational facilities. The new university in Taif, now named the King Abdullah Science and Technology University, will have a capacity of 13,000 students. In addition to offering science, engineering, social sciences, management and computer technology, it will focus on medicine and pharmacology and have its own 200-bed hospital. It is no accident that so many of these new projects in Taif and Baha should be educational — and not only in those locations. Nine years ago in the UK, when Tony Blair swept the Labour party to power, he campaigned on the slogan “Education, Education, Education.” Investment in education was, he said, the central plank in building a new Britain; the investment had to be made. That is also King Abdullah’s vision for Saudi Arabia. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques may not be given to soundbites but if his policy were to be put into three short words, it might well also be “Education, Education, Education.” Education is crucial to the future prosperity of the country.
In fact, the king spelt it out clearly in Taif as he laid the foundation stone for the new university. “We live in a time of scientific and technological advancement,” he said. “There is no real power without achieving progress in science and technology. Anyone failing to achieve excellence in these subjects will be marginalized.” That goes for countries as much as for individuals. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia has lagged behind in the provision of further education for its citizens. Thankfully, that is changing. New universities in Hail, Madinah and Alkhobar have been announced; new campuses are under construction in Dammam and Al-Ahsa for King Faisal University; new colleges are planned in Al-Jouf and Al-Quwaieyah and Bisha which in time are expected to become universities — and there are more. But all this is still not enough to meet the expected demand in five or ten years’ time. No country can afford to be in the second division worldwide in education. That is a path to economic dependency. For Saudi Arabia it would mean remaining dependent on the rest of the world for its doctors, nurses, engineers, chemists, food scientists, technicians and all those future science-based entrepreneurs who, as in other countries, are keys to economic growth. A well-educated society is a prosperous society. It is a society that will grow. That is the king’s vision and it is one we must all embrace.
