It's no secret that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques scholarship program has revolutionized the trend of education among young Saudis. The program is changing the direction of Saudis’ perception of the world and what role they play in the international community.

The creation of the program that gives Saudis free tuition and access to foreign universities that shapes their character is a milestone in the history of the Kingdom. The program guarantees Saudis’ place in business, medicine, science and social services that will have an impact not only on the Kingdom but also other nations.

Although this program gives thousands of Saudis opportunity to earn a graduate or postgraduate degree they otherwise would never dream of having, it’s not a scheme without problems.

A less publicized aspect of the scholarship program is the ability of young married couples with children to study at the same university and earn their degrees roughly at the same time. But giving couples scholarships is a much more complex effort than providing tuition for single men and women.

The question the Ministry of Higher Education must deal with today is how much support it should give to couples with children.

Recently, a young couple with an infant, Abdurrahman, was attending a Toronto university and had difficulty finding child care for their son. The ministry provides no child care allowance although it does provide a small sum for dependents. The extra funds are fixed and it makes no difference whether one parent or both are students.

Child care in Canada can run as high as $1,800 per month in Canadian dollars, which is more than half of the living expenses provided by the ministry. It’s impossible for students with children to afford such child care.

The family finally found an Arab woman who promised that she was licensed and credentialed by the Canadian government as a child care provider. She charged $700 Canadian dollars for her services. Abdurrhman’s parents and about nine other Saudi parents in Toronto availed her services.

The parents were desperate and overlooked that all the children were cared for in a small apartment. One day the father received a call from the police that his son was ill at the apartment. When the father arrived, he found his son dead. The infant’s care provider was not licensed and was illegally operating a child care center.

The cause of death is unknown. Had the child been in a licensed facility and cared for by an experienced provider, the outcome would probably have been different.

Young Saudi parents abroad are often placed in a situation of making difficult decisions they otherwise may not have made if they had the financial support to take care of expenses other than tuition, food and an apartment.

The Ministry of Higher Education has consistently denied students financial aid beyond the basics offered since the program was implemented. But if it decides to grant scholarships to married couples, then it must consider the welfare of the entire family. It must take on the responsibility of providing support to not only the parents but their dependents as well.

The death of Abdurrahman was a preventable tragedy. The parents could have exercised better judgment when selecting a child care facility, but the ministry shares the blame for failing to understand the family’s financial needs.