MADINAH, 28 August 2005 — Last year 150 students who were accepted for studies in the Madinah Teachers’ College decided not to go. This meant that 150 others who had not been accepted missed the chance of further education. A similar thing happens in technical colleges where 15 percent of students drop out every year, reports Al-Madinah newspaper.
The main reason for this annual occurrence which costs the country millions of riyals is that high school graduates are unsure of what they want to do after graduation. This is surely due in part to the absence of guidance departments in the Kingdom’s schools. The job of a guidance department is to move students into fields of specialization that match both their interests and their abilities. Because of this lack, students become confused, join a course which they later find they do not like and then they either fail or drop out. Al-Madinah met several students to discuss this problem.
Mushari Al-Otaibi said that most graduates from high school do not know what they want to do. “Some students look at the specializations needed in the job market and others simply choose a specialization that they like. Some students are directed by their parents to go to colleges and specialize in subjects in which they have neither aptitude nor interest. I think it would be a good idea for special conferences or seminars to be held in order to teach students how to choose specializations, colleges and courses of study.”
Abdullah Al-Humayyani said, “For many high school students, the university or college is a big question mark. There are students who go because their friends are there. Surprisingly, most students do not have any idea about what to do in the college or university. The university often chooses a student’s specialization based on his high school grades; the problem is that the student may not like it and will probably drop out.”
Rayyan Al-Saadi said that he had not yet decided what he wanted to study after high school but that he would apply to several different colleges. He said he would accept a place at the first college that offers him one since, for many students, getting into a university is only a dream.
Khaled Aziz said that he graduated from high school with an average of 70 percent marks. He was confused and did not know what college would accept him with that average. He said that he could not join a teacher’s college because of his average and that the college he wanted to go to would not accept him. “I am forced by my average to go to any college which accepts me — and this means one thing. Our average determines where we go and what we study instead of our being able to choose where we want to go and what we want to study. I wish there were guidance departments in our schools to help students when they arrive in high school.”
Abdul Muhsin Al-Suhaimi, a student adviser in a high school, said, “There are no awareness programs for high school graduates in our universities and colleges. There are efforts made in the high schools to inform students about what courses are available in universities. Awareness should begin at a very early age — in elementary schools so skills and abilities could be developed. In the end, a student’s average percentage determines what college he or she goes to. I blame parents also for interfering with their children’s choices and forcing them into specializations they do not like. I have met students who chose to go into the military, not because he wants to but because his father wants him to. If this problem is not addressed, it will produce a dark future for our students.”
