RIYADH, 16 April 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has issued a royal decree providing for free higher education to orphans, including studies abroad.
The latest move, which comes on the heels of a previous decree allowing Saudi families to act as guardians of orphans, represents the government’s efforts to support them, Abdulaziz Al-Johani, director-general of orphan care at the Ministry of Social Affairs, told Arab News.
He said the Ministry of Social Affairs had already made arrangements with the Ministry of Higher Education to implement the royal decree. “School education is already free. This royal decree goes a step further in providing orphans free education at the university level,” Al-Johani said, adding that when they get married, there is a provision for the grant of SR30,000 toward marriage expenses.
In an earlier statement, Minister of Social Affairs Abdulmohsen Al-Akkas said Saudi families willing to bring up orphans under their guardianship could apply for a limited deed (sak) from a Saudi court enabling them to take custody of orphans and act on their behalf.
The decree was announced here by Deputy Minister for Welfare and Social Development Awad Al-Radadi. He pointed out that an advisory to this effect had been circulated among various social affairs bureaus. The women’s social supervision and monitoring cells as well as some other branches in the Kingdom have been designated to monitor Saudi families taking care of orphans.
The number of Saudi family guardians soared by the end of 2005 to 3,964, with those being nurtured stood at 4,287 orphans, of both sexes. The number of orphan girls stands at 2,407. The orphans are under regular supervision by the departments of the Social Affairs Ministry.
The ministry offers financial aid and monthly allowances to the guardians. A family which nurtures a child below six years receives SR1,000 per month and the number in this category rose to around 1,978 in 2004. The ministry released a grant of SR20,618,120 that year.
The deputy minister said that those departments that monitor orphans living under Saudi family guardianship were now authorized to approach courts to issue guardianship deeds to families taking care of orphans. The restricted deed allows the family to make limited transactions such as opening accounts in banks. He said that the guardian has the right to withdraw money and deposit it on behalf of minor orphans.
Also, this deed will enable the guardian to buy shares on behalf of the minor orphans and subscribe to shares of companies floating the Initial Public Offering (IPO) as well as sell and buy shares on his/her behalf on the stock market.
Al-Radadi said the families taking care of orphans aged over six years received from the ministry a monthly grant of SR1,200. The number of guardians in this category reached 3,412 cases and the amount disbursed was SR44,147,860 by the end of 2005.
The ministry also provides an additional SR5,000 guardianship allowance to each custodian family.
Most orphans in the Kingdom are usually found abandoned during their infancy in hospitals, mosques and public places. Any Saudi family willing to act as a guardian of orphans has to approach the ministry or its branch offices in the Kingdom. The orphans are released into their custody only after they fill out the necessary forms and the completion of a background check by social workers.
