DAMMAM, 25 November — Higher education has become a big dilemma for Arab and expatriate parents after the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States and the subsequent developments around the world. Parents and students alike are now redefining their educational options and it appears that the focus is now shifting from the United States and other European countries.
Prior to Sept. 11, American institutions were the dream destinations for Arab and Asian students pursuing higher education. Many expatriates, especially Pakistanis, Indians, Egyptians and Palestinians, claimed that they migrated from their respective countries with the future of their children in mind. This has also resulted in a frenzied race for immigration by Asians to Canada and the United States.
Academic institutions in Saudi Arabia, which conformed to the education system in America and Canada, had flourished in the past due to the desire to send children to these countries. Exorbitant tuition fees did not deter such parents in pursuing a brighter future for their children. Some of the institutions in the Eastern Province charged fees as high as SR38,000 per year for each student. Compare this figure with a meager SR1,920 charged at Indian and Pakistani schools in the Kingdom. There are examples where expatriates have been investing their life savings in the education of their children.
The reason behind the high costs of education is to prepare students for higher studies in the United States or Canada. On an average three out of every 10 Pakistani students and two out of every 10 Indians make it to the United States or Canada.
Among the Saudis, there are essentially two groups: One which seeks higher education in the Kingdom’s institutions like King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; and the other group which travels abroad. In the 1970s quite a few Saudi students traveled to Beirut to pursue higher studies at The American University of Beirut. But the Lebanese civil war and the Israeli intrusion of Lebanese territory changed this trend and students opted for American institutions. Large companies like Saudi Aramco also sent their employees to American specialized institutions for further studies. On an average nearly 20,000 Saudi students moved to the United States every year to pursue higher education.
But of course things have changed now. The recent harassment of Arab and Muslims students, mainly Saudis has put a big question mark on the future plans of students going to the United States for further studies. Newspaper reports indicate that there are many Arab students in the United States who now want to leave the country and go to safer countries where they are not harassed and suspected of being terrorists.
Expatriates are also facing the same dilemma. Some Pakistani and Indian expatriates in the Eastern Province confirmed that their children studying in America also faced harassment and as a result they too were planning to pull out their children from there.
The stringent immigration rules adopted by American authorities in the aftermath of Sept. 11 will also discourage many Asians and Arabs from sending their children to study there.
With this scenario, the big question now is what options are there left for such parents. A fellow journalist is worried for her son who is now in the final years of his schooling and was all set to go to the United States to study engineering.
"It is out of question now," she says. She and her son are now exploring the possibilities of other countries like India or Lebanon. She is apprehensive about Beirut for a variety of reasons and the cultural difference and complexities of Indian society also worry her.
Asians face the same dilemma. Pakistanis have very limited options: They cannot send their children to India for obvious reasons, and Beirut and Cairo posses cultural differences. Admission to prestigious institutions in Pakistan needs influence.
Indians are less worried as they do not have to opt for Beirut or Cairo. If Canada or America is ruled out then India still promises a chance, as there is no dearth of specialized institutions there. Admission, of course, poses a problem. Admission through donations is quite prevalent!
In this backdrop, some Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are likely to be the future Harvard and Oxford of the Gulf.
In the UAE, there are a few very high standard educational institutions providing professional education. These institutions have tied up with some prestigious bodies in the United States, Britain and India.
Bahrain also has a few specialized professional academic institutes in collaboration with foreign universities.
Expatriates have also been urging Saudi authorities to open up specialized institutions like KFUPM for expatriate students and allow the private sector to open new universities here in collaboration with prestigious institutions abroad. The present dilemma may help in making such demands a reality. It will also open a new avenue for investment for the private sector and may also help in joint ventures. This could be done without compromising on religious or cultural values.
If this happens, the myth of an American degree may be broken one day. Even today, the private sector in Saudi Arabia pays more to an employee with an American passport and an American degree than to nationals of developing countries performing the same job.
This preferential treatment is in practice in almost all segments of the private sector. There have been instances where a national of a developing country after acquiring American or Canadian nationality received a higher salary, despite the fact that the job description remained the same.
It is high time to put an end to such practices and measure an employee on the basis of merit and performance.
