JEDDAH: Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari yesterday highlighted Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s support to institutions of higher learning in the Kingdom and said budget allocations to Saudi universities have doubled in the last five years.
“The government has shown tremendous enthusiasm to upgrade infrastructure facilities of universities,” the minister said while meeting Adnan Wazzan, president of Makkah’s Umm Al-Qura University and other top officials.
He also referred to King Abdullah’s efforts to promote university education. The king had set up a ministerial committee under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Sultan for this purpose. That committee proposed long-term and short-term plans for the development of the Kingdom’s universities. Al-Anqari also called for greater cooperation among Saudi universities and other educational institutions to boost knowledge. “We have to have the necessary infrastructure by building modern university campuses with advanced facilities, and qualified and experienced faculties.”
He said many colleges, especially teaching colleges, have been restructured to meet job market requirements.
