Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal recently asked in an article whether our universities would be liaising with King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST). He also asked whether our universities would try copying the new university’s scientific, research, managerial and technical abilities, and whether they would try introducing them in their classrooms and to their staff and administrators. I would also like to add to this list their students.
I will volunteer to answer the prince’s question by saying what he asks for is, if not impossible, unexpected. My justifications include the administrative problems Saudi universities experience despite the efforts and initiatives of some university heads. Instead of lighting the road ahead for us, these universities have become part of obsolete administrative systems and victims of bureaucracy and their complexities. There is, therefore, no difference between a university and a secondary school or government department.
A university should be able to conduct scientific research, and be independent in its decisions, regulations, plans, programs and budgets. Even the most successful of our universities depend largely on the clout of their heads and the initiatives of their staff.
Thanks to the administrative structure governing them and the traditional managerial structures that have paralyzed their scientific and creative abilities, our higher education institutions lack an understanding of the basic elements that make up successful scientific and research institutions.
It should also be kept in mind that there is no place for serious and creative scientific research in our universities. Our participation in foreign scientific seminars and research institutions is very limited. Despite the ambitious program of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in this regard, plans and programs for sending students abroad are limited. The scientific and technical arrangements of these universities are incomplete and their academic programs are insufficient.
Our universities lack vision or long-term strategies because they lack freedom and foresight. Deans and department heads are not selected based on their abilities but rather according to parameters that have nothing to do with academics.
Therefore how can these universities copy KAUST? We are asking the impossible from our universities. It is a sad situation. Our universities need revamping. The system needs to change; otherwise KAUST may have a hard time filling classrooms with Saudis.
