JEDDAH, 8 June 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah has approved the establishment of three new universities in Jizan, Hail and Al-Jouf, Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari announced yesterday.
The minister did not say when the new universities would be opened, but pointed out that the royal approval came before the beginning of the new academic year (2005-2006).
At present there are 11 universities in the Kingdom including the newly formed three universities in Qassim, Taif and Madinah. The Qassim University was established last year merging the branches of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) and King Saud University in the region. The branches of IMSIU and King Abdul Aziz University in Madinah were merged to form Taiba University. The Taif branch of the Umm Al-Qura University was developed into the new Taif University.
