A few days ago, the King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) celebrated the graduation of a group of students who reside at the university’s dormitory. The 75 graduates majored in different fields and came from Yanbu, Jizan, Tabuk, Diba, Madinah and Taif as well as the neighboring country of Oman.
This annual graduation ceremony is specially held for students who remain on-campus. Their mothers and sisters are also invited to attend the event, which is different to the annual graduation ceremony held for students.
As a member of the Guidance and Counseling Center that follows the Students Affairs Department at KAAU, I have a weekly meeting with students who reside in the dormitory. They are able to take advantage of distinct activities and cultural dialogues, and I can say they have a balanced level of social awareness that helps them overcome the negative feeling they may experience being far away from home. The students are also have a supervisor who lives with them. The Guidance and Counseling Center dedicates a special day of the week to meet them.
The celebration was unique because we had the opportunity of sharing the graduates’ joy. The program was also special because the students prepared the event themselves and surprised us with a series of beautiful speeches dedicated to their teachers and supervisors.
University dormitories need to be properly equipped and have an environment that is suitable for students. They are after all the places where students spend their university years and where they draw inspiration.
However, I was utterly shocked to read a recent report in the Al-Riyadh newspaper that detailed the poorly equipped dormitory at the Education College in Riyadh, which is full of dust and where water is unavailable half the week. The article further mentioned that there were no library or Internet services available to students there.
We cannot say that everything written in the article is 100 percent accurate, but the content of the article indicates that there is a misunderstanding of the concept of providing proper residential, educational, health and food services to students. As mentioned, a sum is deducted from the students’ monthly checks to provide better services.
How could this dormitory be allowed to function in its current state as part of the Education College? Is it logical that we deprive the students of their right to live in a healthy, clean environment, something that they need in order to achieve their educational goals?
Those students are going to be teachers in the future. How can we treat them like this? What memories will they take with them when they leave?
