JEDDAH: Students occupying payment seats at the Kingdom’s medical colleges will receive a monthly allowance of SR11,000 during their one-year internship period.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday approved a proposal in this respect,” said Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari in an announcement. He thanked the king for the gesture.
“These students deserve this financial assistance like other medical students as they have passed with high grades and won seats after attending interviews and special tests,” Dr. Yassir A. Bahader, deputy chairman of the Oncology Department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah.
Speaking to Arab News, Bahader said the king’s support would encourage medical students to work hard during their internship. “They are already doing a lot of work as medical practitioners in various clinics of medical college hospitals,” he pointed out.
A large number of medical students in the Kingdom’s 20 government universities would benefit from the royal gesture, Bahader said. “According to my knowledge, at least 250 students at King Abdulaziz University would benefit from the decision,” he added.
At present, the state is bearing the fees of payment seats at government medical colleges across the country.
Al-Anqari said King Abdullah also approved a number of other resolutions taken by the Higher Education Council, including the restructuring of the College of Business Administration at King Saud University (KSU) and conversion of the research center at Umm Al-Qura University into the Institute of Research and Consultative Studies.
After the restructuring, KSU’s College of Business Administration will have eight departments for economics, accounting, administrative information systems, management, finance, marketing, public administration, and qualitative and quantitative analysis.
“King Abdullah also agreed to establish a medical education department and a cardiology department at the College of Medicine in KSU and a department for English language at the College of Arts and Humanities in Jazan University,” Al-Anqari said.
He said the unit of Islamic architecture and planning at King Faisal University would be transformed into a center for architectural studies and consultancy.
A national center for research on talents and innovation would be established at King Faisal University in Dammam. King Khaled University in Abha will have a similar center.
“Taiba University in Madinah will also get a new center for research and studies on poisons,” the minister said. The center for electronic education at King Khaled University would be transformed into a deanship. New deanships will also be established for the preparatory year at King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa, Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University in Riyadh, Jazan University and Baha University.
Dr. Adnan bin Abdullah Al-Mazrouei, dean of the Medical College at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), has been promoted to vice president of the university while Dr. Abdullah Bafel was named KAU’s vice president for projects. Abdul Rahman Al-Yubi has been appointed KAU vice president for educational affairs and Adnan bin Hamza Zahid vice president for higher studies and scientific research.
Abdul Aziz bin Salim Al-Ruwais has been appointed vice president of KSU, Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh, KSU vice president for quality and development, Ali bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi vice president of King Saud University for higher studies and scientific research. The terms of Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Robaish, vice president of King Faisal University, Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Tami, vice president of Qassim University for educational affairs, Tarish bin Muslim Al-Shammari, vice president of Al-Jouf University, have been extended for three years.
