JEDDAH, 6 May 2007 — A large number of Saudi and expatriate students showed keen interest in learning about overseas education during the four-day educational exhibition — Middle East Education and Training Exhibition (MEETES) — that concluded here over the weekend. Students were accompanied by their parents and sought both information and counseling at the exhibition.
“I am impressed by the facilities for higher education available in some overseas destinations including Malaysia, India and Switzerland,” Abdullah Al-Rajhi, an IT undergraduate student at King Abdulaziz University, told Arab News. “I find the facilities excellent and far cheaper in some Eastern countries in comparison to the West, and I would like to go to one of those countries for advanced studies.”
Adnan Dossary, another university student, said: “I am back here after discontinuing my business management education in the United States. I may be going to one of the Eastern countries for the same course.”
A number of Western institutions also received inquiries; those pertaining to British universities were directed to the British Council which facilitates local students to enroll at various UK universities and institutions.
“The British Council in Jeddah runs English language academic and general courses,” its Education Adviser Zaher Daou said, adding that a wide variety of the UK courses and qualifications were now available via distance learning. “Most programs are very flexible,” he said. The University of Edinburgh’s first-time participation in the show has proved to be “fruitful,” said Robin McGregor, international officer at the university. He expects a number of students from the Kingdom to join the university during the next academic year.
The International Group for Educational Consultancy represented 30 Australian educational institutions and eight New Zealand ones. “The response this time has been far better than last year’s,” its representative said. “Every year, Australia gets an average of 600 students from the Kingdom with about 300 going to New Zealand,” he said.
The Swiss Education Council, which took part in the exhibition for the first time, has a number of universities to promote education in Switzerland. “Switzerland has a multicultural, safe and secure environment for all nationalities,” said Dr. Fauz Gataby, director of the council. “Our fee structure is extremely competitive and we provide quality education in all disciplines and specialize in hospitality and management industry education.”
Professor Muslim Bozyigit of the Middle East Technical Education, Cyprus, said he was happy to see the enthusiasm of Saudi and expatriate students. “They seem to be very interested in pursuing studies in Cyprus.” The American University Girne-Cyprus also reported a good number of inquiries from students.
Malaysia was represented by its Ministries of Education and of Higher Education. “We provide quality education in an Islamic atmosphere and at a very competitive cost,” said Hadidah Abdul Rahman of Jabatan Pelajaran Swata Kementerian Pelajaran, Malaysia.
Patrick Klassen of the Canadian Education Network said that visitors showed a renewed interest in Canadian education. “It is well known that Canada offers excellent education in an extremely professional environment. We provide quality courses which are globally recognized,” he said.
Indian universities were represented by Educational Consultants India Ltd. and Jamia Hamdard, both of whom targeted principally Indian expatriate students.
Next year’s show will be held from March 10-13. “We also plan to organize a MEETES road show in Riyadh in 2008 in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education,” said Zahoor Siddique, exhibitions manager at Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions.
