JEDDAH, 27 January 2008 — Over 3,000 students from Jeddah, who are going abroad as part of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, which is in its third year, attended a four-day orientation course offering them educational tips and how to behave in their host countries.
The course, which took place at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel and was attended by 3,240 young men and women, ended on Friday. Countries where the students will be going include: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, the US, the UK, France, Hungary and Holland.
Students attended workshops, which provided them with knowledge about their destined countries. “Students going to study abroad, especially in the UK, have to try hard to adapt not only to the environment of the countries, but to adjust to meet the high standards of the universities they are going to,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Nasser.
He stressed that students have to respect the traditions of the country they are traveling to and that they need to be able to manage their monthly allowances.
Most of the lectures were similar in content, and stressed the need for students to stick to their religion and adjust to their learning environment.
After the final lecture, students asked questions about the limits of dealing with people of the opposite sex. Nasser Al-Maiman, assistant general secretary of the Muslim World League, replied that Islam does not ban gender mixing in normal environments. “They can help each other in studying and have normal conversations. What is forbidden in Islam is that a man and a woman sit together in a closed environment, or have inappropriate conversations,” he said.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Mousa, general supervisor of the general administration for scholarship programs, said that some students win scholarships but decide not to go at the last minute. “Last year we specified 200 seats for medical fellowships at various Canadian universities; students changed their minds at the last minute and did not go,” Al-Mousa said, adding that this year the Ministry of Higher Education had only 60 seats.
He also warned students against marrying non-Saudis, especially non-Arabs, and said that around 20 students, who married abroad, had to cut short their scholarships and returned to the Kingdom. He added that they faced problems, but did not elaborate.
It also transpired that the bad attitude of students last year caused many to cut short their studies and that 71 students were forced to return from the US, 13 from New Zealand and five from Malaysia.
Students asked about their monthly allowances. Al-Mousa told them to expect to receive a three-month-allowance after the third month of leaving the Kingdom. The delay was due to procedures in registering at the Saudi Cultural Bureau of the countries they go to.
Students going to the UK had their seats reserved by the Ministry of Higher Education, as they received preliminary acceptance that has to be supported by their English language proficiency.
The ministry is focusing on distributing students among various universities of respective countries.
Procedures, like changing the male guardian for women, must be done at the Ministry of Education in Riyadh. Finalizing the scholarship procedures must also be done from Riyadh. Students are also able to apply for university places themselves.
Procedures were stricter at the second scholarship orientation than the previous one that took place in Riyadh last year. Orientation programs this year visited the three cities of Riyadh, Alkhobar and Jeddah.
The orientation program is part of scholarship procedures. Students had to log in and log out using special cards provided with barcodes. Attendant timings will be sent to the Ministry of Education; those who did not attend 30 percent of the orientation program will be deprived of their scholarships.
