Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is experiencing a new boom as a result of the increase in oil prices. The government is heavily investing in development projects, one of which is education. The Saudi population is estimated to be around 26 million with about 6 million expatriates. About 38 per cent of the population is under the age of 14 and 59 per cent between 15 and 64.
The government is in a process of establishing new state universities to cope with the increasing demand for higher education. The expansion is aimed at smaller cities in different parts of the country. Many community colleges have started to teach students in rural areas with diploma degrees validated by one of the existing state universities. These colleges are expected to expand and be converted into regional universities
The Ministry of Higher Education is also encouraging state universities to revise their departments in lines with the employment market demands. This is an attempt to guide the resources towards medicine, science, engineering and IT fields. It is also encouraging the Islamic universities to open new science and engineering departments.
Saudi Arabia follows a 6-3-3 (primary-intermediate-secondary) year school system. Boys and girls are generally taught in separate schools. The school year lasts from September to May. Many expatriate students (6 million expatriates live and work in Saudi Arabia) follow various foreign education systems, such as IGCSE, GCSE, A-Level, Indian CBSE and ISC, Pakistani high school, French, American and local private high school diplomas.
In the government sector, Arabic is the medium of instruction, and in the private local sector, English is the medium of instruction, including most of the international schools. The Saudi educational structure has an easier fit with the US, Canadian and Australian systems, since they all finish high school at grade 12.
For non-Saudi nationals funding their own studies, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia offer other advantages, including the possibility of scholarships, employment prospects after graduation and cheaper living costs. Growing anti-Muslim sentiments from the West are persuading families to send their children to countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Malaysia, where students can study in an Islamic environment.
More than 18,000 Saudis are attending foreign universities while 7500 students’ credentials are in processing for the study abroad programme. They are supported by both independent funding as well as by government scholarships. An increasing proportion of the total number is enrolled on undergraduate courses. For the UK, where Saudi postgraduate students have traditionally outnumbered undergraduates by two to one, there has been a noticeable market shift. There remains a widely held belief among Saudi school students, their parents and teachers, that UK higher education is inaccessible. Alternative entry routes to UK undergraduate programmes, for which A-levels are not required, are not well known amongst the Saudi HE market.
The demand for UK HE education has increased as a result of 11 September 2001 attacks and the strict US visa regulations. Many of the Saudi students who had been in the US, returned as a result of the tense atmosphere. These students have been looking for alternative countries to pursue their studies in. The UK captured has many of them, although many others who have tried the UK have often been deterred by delays and negative replies they received during the application process.
The latest UK NARIK figures estimates that there are 2,445 Saudis in HE and 320 in FE. Most of these students are government sponsored. The government also allow for self funded students in medicine, IT, science and engineering subjects to join the government scholarships after achieving good results in their studies.
The King has approved adding the UK to the list of countries included on King Abdullah Scholarships Programme KASP starting from 2007-2008 academic year. This scholarship programme sends about 5,000 students every year to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, China and India. About 25 per cent of the students go for PhD programmes, 35 per cent for masters and the rest for undergraduate programmes in medicine, science and engineering fields. All students get funding for one full year of English language tuition prior to the starting of their course. It is still not clear how many students will be sent to the UK, but it is expected to be around 800.
The ministry will be sending students to four, five and five* departments and have setup a separate admissions department at the ministry. The role of this department is to short list the applications and finds suitable places for students.
All student applications will be done on line and list the country they wish to study at and the preferred institutions. The selection will then be done on merit. To give an example about the level of students selected, the minimum GPA of the students placed in Australia last year was 94 per cent.
The government also announced a huge scholarships programme with the US this year. About 3,000 students were accepted on the scholarships programme and many more are expected to go on the same programme. The scholarships were agreed with the US government and was initiated by the King (when he was the Crown Prince) during his visit to the US in 2005.
Demand for UK postgraduate qualifications remains strong - especially from university faculty members holding scholarships. The UK one-year Masters programmes are a clear asset, while the UK PhD are highly regarded. On the one hand, they are admired for their rigorous training in independent research; on the other, they are seen as less relevant than the US model, which tends to include broad-based and formally assessed course-work.
The UK's ability to respond to local needs have resulted in increasing the UK's market share. The Ministry of Higher Education expressed interest in seeing an UK PhD programmes similar to the US model and they have responded positively by introducing the New Route PhD. Since this change the ministry has recommended that government funded students should be enrolled on New Route PhD programmes, if possible.
The British Council in Saudi Arabia has six offices in the three main cities Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Each city has separate men and women centres.
The Saudi operation focuses on teaching English, examination and education information services, ELT placement services, access to UK resources and developing its cultural programme.
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