JEDDAH: A recent study about Saudi universities revealed that 75 percent of students don’t know their abilities and cannot decide in which field they should go for specialization. They are also unaware of the job needs of local market.

The study said that 92 percent of the students don’t know anything about the curriculum or the four years of university studies.

The study was presented by Dr. Mazen Abdulqader Bleilah, former dean of registration and admittance at King Abdulaziz University and a former member of the Shoura Council, at the GCC conference on academic advising.

Bleilah said in the study which is titled: “Education for Work,” that academic counseling plays an important role in developing students’ skills and helps them to utilize their skills and talents, which will be reflected in the labor market. He said Saudi universities should benefit from this to bridge the gap between its educational curriculum and the labor market needs, and prevent the practice of saturation or students leaving university before completing their studies.