JEDDAH: The Ministry of Education has made 300,000 seats available at 28 public universities for high school graduates, but a whopping 76 percent of these seats are vacant.

According to figures posted on the ministry’s website, only 69,317 students have been enrolled in public universities for bachelor’s degrees for the next academic year, at the end of the acceptance period.

Girls have left boys behind in the admissions game, with 38,092 enrolling for the degree courses out 69,317. A total of 420 female students are enrolled as associate students and 268 are enrolled in the parallel education system, while 513 male students are enrolled in the parallel education system.

The ministry said that it has made 144,436 seats available for female students at universities as per specific requirements for the bachelor’s degree, while 136,764 seats allocated for male students.