RIYADH: The Ministry of Higher Education has selected all the students who applied for and fulfilled the stipulated conditions for the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program.
According to a statement by the ministry yesterday, 5,775 students of both genders are eligible to enroll in foreign universities to continue their higher education.
It is the first time that all the applications for the scholarship program have been accepted.
“Over the years the number of applicants exceeded the available number of scholarships. The ministry had no choice but to select those who scored higher from those applicants. This year the principle of higher merit has been abandoned in favor of the right of every student to study abroad if he or she meets the conditions,” Majed Al-Harbi, director of the scholarship project, told Arab News yesterday. Al-Harbi added that while selecting the successful candidates, their choice of country has been considered.
A distinctive feature of this year’s selection is that women dominated the scholarships for master’s and research programs, the director said.
“Out of a total of 4,779 students selected for master’s degree 2,585 are women while 86 women students are selected for doctoral degree for which the total seats are only 127,” he said.
The selected high school graduates included 575 candidates of both sexes for medical degrees and 421 candidates for fellowship programs in medicine, he added.
The list of selected candidates for diploma courses has been delayed because of the delay in receiving applications, he said.
The director also urged the selected candidates to report immediately to the Ministry of Higher Education with their original certificates for the completion of formalities and in order to attend special orientation programs meant for them.
“The ministry arranges English language classes particularly for high school students. However, that does not mean that they would not have to attend English or other language programs as part of their academic programs,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Khoraif, director of rehabilitation and orientation programs at the ministry.
The total number of Saudis studying abroad, including those who study at their own expense, is about 50,000 distributed in 20 countries.
