RIYADH: According to a report released recently by the Ministry of Higher Education, as many as 26,500 Saudis are currently studying in 36 foreign universities. The report said the students include 21,793 men and 4,690 women.
While 18,133 students are doing courses for bachelor’s degrees, mostly in majors related to economics and business administration, 7,370 students are enrolled in master’s degree programs and 493 in Ph.D. programs, Al-Madinah newspaper said quoting the ministry’s report.
About one quarter of the total students abroad are doing courses in computer and communication engineering. There are also hundreds of students taking courses in medicine, dental sciences, pharmacology, transportation, aeronautical and automobile engineering, humanities, psychology, education, languages and translation.
The report also showed that 16,036 of these students are on Saudi government scholarships while 10,447 of them are meeting their educational expenses on their own.
Twenty-two cultural attaches appointed by the Higher Education Ministry in various countries help students in solving problems that they may face while abroad.
With 5,241 students, Egypt is the country that has the largest number of Saudis studying in its various universities. Egypt is followed by Jordan with 2,433 students.
The report put the total number of registered students currently in the Kingdom’s universities at 390,331. The figure includes more than 12,000 foreign students.
The number of students registered this year is put at 116,345 with 64,382 men and 51,963 women. The figure also includes 3,173 foreign students.
The number of graduates from Saudi universities in 2007 was 48,323, of which 46,214 were Saudi.
The report put the total number of employees in all universities at 21,072 in 2007, while the number of faculty members was 11,471 with 6,256 of them (54.4 percent) Saudis and 5,215 foreigners.
Of the Saudi teaching staff, 552 lecturers were sent to foreign universities and 181 to the country’s universities for career improvement programs.
The report said a committee at the ministry rated the degrees obtained by Saudi students from foreign universities to ensure that they conform to the Saudi educational standards and requirements.
