JEDDAH, 14 December 2006 — Saudi Arabia made a quantum leap in higher education within the last three years when the total number of the country’s universities increased from eight to 18. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is expected to launch the 19th university in the northern city of Arar after Eid Al-Adha holidays.
The new university is aimed at promoting higher education in the Northern Border province. The university colleges in Arar and Refha are currently supervised by universities situated about 1,500 kilometers away from these towns. The College of Science in Arar and the Community College in Refha are affiliated to King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
There are no colleges in Turaif, another town in the Northern Border province, and people in the region have been calling for new colleges of engineering, medicine, and applied medical sciences for both boys and girls. Rasheed Al-Harbi, principal of the Teachers College in Arar, said there are four colleges in Arar including three under the Ministry of Education.
King Abdullah is scheduled to visit northern regions of Tabuk, Al-Jouf and Arar after the Haj season to inaugurate a number of development projects and meet with people of the region.
It will be Abdullah’s first visit to the region after ascending to the throne in August 2005. He has already visited regions such as the Eastern Province, Qasim, Hail, Najran, Jizan and Asir.
During his visit to Tabuk, the king will launch the Tabuk University. Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd ibn Sultan has said that the new university would change the face of the Tabuk region, acting as a catalyst for the region’s overall development.
The first phase of the Tabuk University project, spreading over an area of nine million square meters, will cost about SR1 billion ($375 million). The university will have 16 colleges for boys and girls.
