JEDDAH, 11 January 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has allocated SR10 billion for a major scholarship program under which more than 18,000 Saudi students have already been sent to American, European and Asian universities for higher studies, according to Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the minister said preparations were under way to dispatch 7,500 more students to foreign universities under the scholarship program, which is named after King Abdullah.
The king has also agreed to increase the remunerations paid to the family of a scholarship winner as the program will now cover four children instead of two and the third and fourth children will get SR10,000 each. The state will also pay for the students’ entry visas.
King Abdullah had earlier approved a 15 percent rise in monthly stipends given to Saudi students who go abroad for higher studies. Measures have also been taken to solve the problem faced by some students as a result of exchange rate fluctuations.
Students will now receive stipends at rates fixed at SR2.57 for the Canadian dollar, SR2.27 for the Australian dollar, SR5.93 for the sterling pound, SR3.84 for the euro and SR0.48 for the South Africa rand, the minister said.
