“We have opened extensive investigations after hearing the complaints of a number of students against health institutes. The students accused these institutes of expelling them after initial acceptance,” spokesman of the authority Abdullah Al-Zahyan was quoted as saying in the local media.

He said the SAHS had issued a circular in July to all health institutes in the Kingdom banning them from teaching courses which are not in demand in the job market.

The students claimed that the institutes accepted them in complete disregard of the instructions they received from SAHS but had to expel them later when they were under pressure to abide by this particular rule.

According to Al-Zahyan, the institutes were prevented from accepting any new student except those wishing to have diplomas in seven specializations, including dentistry, anesthesia, artificial respiration, health control, medical equipment, IT and secretarial work.

“Other than these seven subjects, the institutes should not admit any new students,” he said. Al-Zahyan warned that if any of the institutes were found contravening this rule, they would be punished according to the authority’s regulations.