For these students, who are all enrolled on a distance learning program, Jeddah is a world apart from the tribal and conservative southern regions of Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Arab News, some students said the freedoms they enjoy in Jeddah could be compared to what scholarship students experience when traveling to countries in the West.
With competition for places at Abha’s King Khaled University tough, many disappointed students are forced to enroll at universities in other parts of the Kingdom or join distance-learning programs offered by universities like KAU. Others are forced to join universities outside Asir to pursue studies in subjects not offered at King Khaled University.
Kholoud and four of her friends from Asir share a rented apartment in Jeddah for the three-week duration of the exams. “We comfort each other when feel homesick. By sharing the apartment we also save rent,” she said.
For Kholoud and her friends, staying in Jeddah is like being on holiday. “We enjoy being able to go out to coffee shops and not badgered by our families and tribes. We would love it if there weren’t these restrictions in Asir,” she added.
Another student, who requested her name not be published, has come to Jeddah from Asir to sit her exams at KAU accompanied by her maid and children — an 11-year-old girl and a baby.
“I had to request my daughter’s school to give her term exams before other children so she could come to Jeddah with me,” said the woman, whose husband returned to Abha after dropping them in the city.
“I have full freedom here. I go out with my Jeddah friends for coffee, lunch and shopping. What we do here is not against Islam, but it’s frowned upon by our conservative peers in the south,” she said.
One male student had taken time off from work to come to Jeddah for his exams. The student has spent some SR10,000 in rent, food and transportation over the three-week exam period.
“The university has failed to take into consideration our circumstances since we come from so far away. We would’ve preferred if the university had scheduled our exams for one week rather than three weeks,” he said.
Abu Mohammad, a father from Abha, explained why some people object to sending their girls to Jeddah. “Our culture and traditions do not approve of this. People think girls will pick up bad habits in Jeddah. But I am fine with my daughters completing their education there even though my cousins and close relatives wouldn’t,” he added.
