More than 130 Ph.D. students at Um Al-Qura University have been forced to stop studying because they failed to take off from work for full-time study as required by government rules for those seeking doctoral degrees.

The students, some of whom have been studying for more than two years and have only their theses to complete, said they were taken by surprise by the university’s decision, according to a recent report in a local publication.

The university had obliged students to sign a pledge that they would bring proof of leave before they started the 2015/2016 academic year. The university had warned them that they would be penalized for failing to abide by regulations.

Adel Banaama, spokesman for the university, said some students had signed the pledge for full-time study but had then gone back to work without notifying the university. This violated the university’s rules and it has the right to impose penalties, he said.

He said these are not the university’s rules, but those issued by the Higher Education Council. According to Article 13 of the rules, students are required to commit themselves to full-time study if they are seeking doctoral degrees.