JEDDAH, 30 December 2004 — Ibn Sina National College which opened at the beginning of the present academic year is the Kingdom’s first private medical college.
According to Dr. Rashad Kashgari, dean of the college, the number of high school graduates who want to go to medical school increases every year. “Unfortunately,” he said, “even though their grades are very high, there are no available places for them. To respond to the demand, the private sector, under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, has stepped in with the idea of Ibn Sina National College. Both Arab and non-Arab students will be accepted.”
To be eligible for admission to Ibn Sina National College, applicants in medicine or dentistry must have a Saudi high school diploma or its academic equivalent. The overall high school average must be at least 85 percent, with nothing lower than that in English or scientific subjects.
In order to qualify for admission, application must be made within three years of the date of the diploma. Students must pass an entrance examination and will also have a personal interview. Pharmacology students must satisfy the same conditions although their percentage for acceptance is 80 percent.
Ibn Sina National College offers dentistry and pharmacology for both sexes in addition to certain medical specialties for males only. The first class of 58 medical and pharmacology male students began their course at the beginning of the present academic year.
In the second semester, the college will accept female pharmacology students. In the next academic year, both male and female dental students will be accepted.
The college curriculum was designed at the Prince Abdullah Institute for Research and Consultation at King Saud University in Riyadh. The teaching staff comes from different countries and is assisted by Saudi professors from local universities.
“Training will take place in Al-Jedaani Hospital which will become an educational hospital in the future so that students can practice what they are being taught,” Dr. Kashgari said.
Muhammad, a student in the college, said in the first year all students study the same courses and then they separate according to their specialties. “The teaching staff is qualified and willing to discuss difficulties with students. Studying first was easy then it got more difficult. We take classes from 8:30 a.m. till 2 p.m. on the 4th floor of Al-Jedaani Hospital in Jeddah’s Ghulail district. Next semester we will move to a well-equipped college building.”
