The Ministry of Higher Education will today open the electronic registration process for Saudi students wishing to apply for scholarships to a number of Saudi private universities and colleges, local daily Al-Madinah reported yesterday.

Registration will remain open until Aug. 8 and will cover six private universities and 20 colleges specializing mainly in medical sciences and IT.

Ministry sources expected around 3,000 students to benefit from these scholarships. According to ministry regulations, new students wanting to join faculties of medicine, dentistry, medical sciences, pharmacology and nursing on a government scholarship should have scored 80 percent in their secondary school certificates and their skill assessment should not score less than 70 percent.

Under the local scholarship program, the ministry will pay the university or college tuition fees at the annual rate of SR 70,000 for medical and dentistry students; SR 55,000 for medical sciences, pharmacology and nursing students; SR 45,000 for engineering and computer students; and SR 40,000 for public administration and law students.

The ministry made it clear no scholarship would be accepted before the university or college admission period and warned applications are not automatically granted.

The applicants should be Saudi nationals, not employed anywhere and with no criminal records.

Meanwhile, ministry undersecretary Muhammad Al-Ouhali denied the ministry was putting hurdles in front of open and electronic universities.