This is a question I’ve often asked myself since coming to the UK two years ago. When I recently discovered the real meaning of the word “university” in the West, I felt that the same word could not be applied to the institution I had attended in Saudi Arabia and from which I got my first degree. And when I spoke to people from other parts of the Arab world, I realized that they too, having discovered what a university really is, understood how I felt. In most Arab countries, the universities are enormous, expensive buildings from which millions graduate annually. Our universities are unfortunately little more than glorified high schools — and frequently some of the better-equipped high schools are superior in terms of sciences and activities.
In Saudi Arabia, I was a student in the Department of Computer Science. Both the department and I suffered because of a lack of equipment and educational tools. There were no labs for most of the subjects and no female staff in many computer-related specialties. The absence of staff meant we had to study via TV. I wonder if you can imagine how difficult and discouraging it is to try to study science with no teacher to explain and interact with students. There was a further problem in that the actual subject matter taught had not been updated for a number of years; everyone knows that computer technology is changing rapidly and those who fail to keep up are soon totally out of the running.
When I was in the UK, I investigated the BA subjects in my field; there it takes three years to get a degree while in Saudi Arabia, the same degree takes five years. On top of that, students there took more specialized subjects than we did. Some subjects they studied in the first year, we studied in the third or fourth. I’m talking about the subjects which were studied both here and there; there were many more, highly relevant to the subject, which were studied there but not here. My friends and I graduated in 2002 without having studied anything at all about web information security, web technology or e-business. As for networking, we studied that only theoretically because we didn’t have an internal network in our department and of course no Internet.
If we forget about the actual course content and look at how teaching methodology, I would say in all frankness that there was not much difference. There are good and bad lecturers in both countries but the significant difference is in the resources. In the UK, the teacher explains his or her topic while using a computer; the entire lecture is available on the teacher’s website along with the sources the teacher used. I have never heard of this in Saudi Arabia. In the UK, on the other hand, any student who wants to can overcome the problem of a bad teacher by looking at the lecture on the website. Besides, our libraries lack the latest books. Can anyone really be surprised to learn that in a survey conducted by an English newspaper that not a single Arab institution was among the world’s top 500 universities? It is truly remarkable — and a tribute to our perseverance and persistence — that in spite of these difficulties, so many of us actually get a good education and go into good jobs.
When we turn from academic matters and look at the other elements that should make a school into a university, we see more shortcomings. What about the activities and services available to students in universities outside the Arab world? Think of exercise and sports — most universities have teams in every sport you can think of. Most universities encourage and allow students to organize a society or association corresponding to the students’ special interests. There are societies for scuba-diving, skating, skiing, flying, water sports of all kinds, horse-back riding, physical fitness and the list could go on and on. These societies and groups exist side by side with drama societies, media societies, cinema — with most universities having their own student-run broadcasting as well as magazines, cinemas and of course theater. In addition to the media and theater groups, there are others which are political, social, environmental, societies that are against globalization or that call for equality between nations or that call for human rights. Each society is allowed to receive individuals from home or abroad who speak openly on any topic — which means there are speakers ranging from parliamentary representatives to Christian missionaries. They all come to the university, talk to the students and answer questions. Some are deservedly remembered and others are equally as deservedly forgotten.
Because the UK is a country which encourages cross-cultural dialogues and respects the opinions of all groups and minorities, there are a number of religious and national societies. There is, for example, a society for Saudis, one for Palestinians, one for Syrians, one for Omanis and also one for Muslim students which includes them all.
One of the most important and beautiful things in most universities is the provision for students to do voluntary work. This is a way of involving students in the community; sometimes the work is with handicapped children or with the elderly. Students are happy to do this kind of work since voluntary work is highly regarded and volunteers are looked at as people worthy of respect.
Taking what I have mentioned as some of the characteristics of a university, I wonder what the difference is between a Saudi high school and a Saudi university. The dress code? The monthly allowance? The schedules? If we can improve our universities, it would surely be felt in many areas. Some of our most pressing national problems — unemployment for one — could begin to be solved. And if that were solved, perhaps the problem of terrorism would also recede, especially since it often surfaces in those who are unemployed and who have narrow horizons. Our universities could be like those in many other countries; we have no shortage of talent, ability and experience. What is needed is simply a chance backed up by confidence, belief and financial and moral support. If that chance materializes and if it has the necessary backup, there is no telling what we could achieve. We would probably even innovate.
