May 7, 2004

INTERVIEW WITH DR. KHALID AL-ANQARI, THE SAUDI ARABIAN MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION: GIRLS CONSTITUTE A THIRD OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND WE HAVE PLANS TO OPEN NEW UNIVERSITIES. Baria Alamuddin: Al Hayat At present, the issue of teaching and higher education is of major importance and discussion in the Arab world. This is due to the need to develop the syllabus and teaching on all levels in schools and universities. Within that discussion, the issue of women's education occupies a major role in the light of the figures that were revealed in the Arab world's development report stating that 60% of Arabic girls are illiterate. Although it is true that these figures differ from one Arab country to another, the rate of illiteracy is in fact worrying especially in the circle of Arab women and throughout the United Nations organizations which are concerned with illiteracy issues around the world. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arab world are currently keen on closing this learning gap which seems to be of interest to those who want to fish in dirty water and consequently use this as feeding material for campaigns against the Kingdom. Since the middle of the last century, the Kingdom has witnessed great developments in improving the education of girls. The result of this development can be seen presently in the fact that girls constitute over a third of the half a million students who enter Saudi universities. According to Dr Al-Anqari, girls constitute 57% of students in some colleges and they even exceed male students in many subjects and achieve higher marks in their academic results. The Minister, as well as other government officials, is the first to admit that the situation regarding the education of girls is far from being totally resolved. The illiteracy problem is a massive task and there is a strong need to widen university subject areas for girls wishing to embark on a higher education as well as to open up other areas which, until now, are only available for male students. As regards to the syllabus, Dr Al-Anqari states that developing it is a continuous process that will not stop bearing in mind international development on one hand and the needs of the Saudi employment market in another: " In order not to find ourselves with unemployed university graduates." In this interview he conveys to us a portrait of the Saudi girl at present and what the future may hold for her. Q: There are those who say that the West and in particular, the United States of America are trying to impose a change in the syllabus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, is this accurate? A: I have never heard of any such things in the news neither have I ever been asked to change any syllabus in higher education establishments. The change is constant and not something that we started today. Since the opening of universities in the Kingdom, we have been constantly improving and adjusting the syllabus. With the changes in our lives and in educational and employment market demands, we also have to adjust the syllabus. This is the sole reason for change. Q: Does that mean that you have never met with any ambassador or minister from the United States of America and have never been officially approached regarding that issue? A: Never. Q: What about the Minister for primary and secondary education, was he asked to change the syllabus? A: No, I have never heard of any change that was imposed by anyone. Q: Having spoken to a number of women, I have found out that there are many subjects that are not available for girls, such as photography, sports and engineering, amongst others. Are there plans to offer these fields to girls? And what other new fields are you planning to make available for them? A: If we are talking about higher education, then all subjects are readily available to both sexes except the fields that do not have any job opportunities. There are opportunities in medicine, pharmacology and other areas like pathology and nutrition as well as information technology and science. We have to make sure that those students graduate in fields where they would subsequently have job opportunities because this also leads us to the issue of unemployment. For example, why would we open a department of mechanical or civil engineering if there are no job opportunities in that field? We are more than prepared to open up those departments once job opportunities arise. Furthermore, you might well find other subject areas which are available to girls and not so much to boys because the demand for girls to work in that particular market sector, be it private or state, is greater and needs specialist female approach. 57% of those who enter higher education are girls. Subject areas are available for both males and females. As far as sending students to finish their higher education abroad, the opportunity is open to both and there is no differentiation between boys and girls. So, if a girl were to want to go and study engineering in the UK or the USA, she would be allowed. However, it would consume too much time and money to establish a dedicated engineering department in our universities because the numbers would be too small. Q: What are the new fields where, one can say, you are giving women a more prominent role? A: Women play an important role in healthcare such as medicine, pharmacology and dentistry. We have many women working in pathology laboratories, x-ray departments and hospitals and we are trying to expand that. We also have a large number of female graduates who specialize in computing and other educational areas. I do not mean normal education or teaching. I am referring to departments of special needs for children and other areas in higher education that appeal to girls. With every subject, we examine the needs of the community and put a proposal forward to the university. They then take into account the needs of the local community as well as the country as a whole and then start developing the new colleges and the application procedures. At the moment, it is difficult to give a particular answer because there is constant change and development. Q: Which are the subjects that appeal to Saudi girls? Information technology? A: Where girls are concerned, we focus on information technology and healthcare areas like nursing, radiology and pharmacology. This is because there is a demand for employment in those fields. Q: Can we say that all subject areas in the Kingdom are equipped with modern technology? A: Yes, this is correct to a certain extent but we are continuously updating according to technological developments. Q: What is the rate of female undergraduates? A: In total, there are around 500,000 university students of whom the third are girls. On top of that, there are around 300,000 or more in other colleges. Q: What are the other colleges? A: In the past, a special body affiliated with the Ministry of Education called "The Presidency for Girls' Education" used to be in charge of the education of girls. Then, colleges for female teachers were established. After that, these were extended to colleges that did not specialize in teaching degrees alone but also taught other subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics like the girls' college in Riyadh. These colleges award Masters and PhDs. This was also implemented in other colleges and towns such as Jeddah, Dammam and others. Q: Is there a program for sending students to attain their degrees from abroad? And how many of those are girls? A: The majority of parents prefer their sons and daughters to study in their homeland for fear of foreign influences and the difference in cultures especially on girls. We do, however, have a large number of female students abroad and the right to get a student visa depends on their academic ability. They must have good grades and there is no difference between boys and girls. Q: What guarantees do you give students other than school and university fees? A: As well as school fees, students are given a monthly grant and healthcare insurance and a bonus amount if they succeed in their studies. We also provide all their books and travel tickets. We also offer many facilities if the student has children or if it is the wife who has been offered the student visa. Q: Some say that after the events of September 11th, the demand by Saudi students to travel to the USA to study has diminished and that they prefer to go to other Arab countries like Egypt or Lebanon? Is that correct? And which Arab states do they prefer to go to? Because many students are used to study in a certain language, many travel to the USA, Canada or the UK. We do, however, have many students who go to Australia and New Zealand and others. There are also those who prefer to go to Arab countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Gulf states. It all depends on their subject areas and the opportunities available to them. I think that demand is the same but it has become more difficult to attain university spaces and it is not as easy to travel to some countries and to move around and that is why some students have returned from abroad. Q: What is the level of co-ordination between the GCC member states and other Arab countries? A: There are annual meetings held by the GCC in the field of education. During these meetings, co-ordination and benefit from achievement by countries are highlighted as well as the support of existing efforts by Gulf states and other countries. This is what usually happens in such meetings. Q: But is this co-ordination superficial? A: No. There are important co-ordinated subjects that need academic supervision whether they be in the state or private sector. Great research has been down to narrow the gap between the programmes implemented and the academic supervision needed in higher education. Q: The University of the Gulf (in Bahrain) was in dire straits and its facilities were very weak. Why not make it a centre for students from the Gulf and the Arab world? And why not improve its state? A: I am sure that the situation has changed totally. The University of the Gulf represents co-operation between Gulf States in a particular area which is higher education. It specializes in offering subjects that are in demand in the region like medicine, desert studies and development. These are all subjects that are essential to the region. There are many students there from the Gulf and especially from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because of its geographical closeness. In the last two years there was a large sponsorship from the Kingdom through plans agreed upon by the Ministry of Higher Education directly or between private sector and the university. There is, for example, a programme set up to train a large number of students every year and to place them in departments such as medicine and others. This agreement is for the next ten years and will surely benefit the university financially and academically. Besides that, there is also the contribution of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Defence and Aviation Minister and Inspector General through His Royal Highness charitable foundation which helped in research and studies. This is considered as an academic as well as a financial contribution. Furthermore, Her Royal Highness, Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Ibrahim, The wife of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, donated last year 6 million dollars to the university with which a centre for the study of and research into genetic diseases in the Gulf region was established. There are many other projects that have been implemented in the last few years. I therefore believe that the university is going in the right path it offers its services and receives sponsorship in order to improve its programmes and academic performance. Q: Is an effort exerted by the Kingdom or GCC member states to encourage students to study in Arab universities rather than travel abroad? A: The amount of students that universities in the region can cater for is limited because they need to provide for local needs prior to foreign needs. There are Saudi students in all Arab universities in the region but we still need more spaces to be made available. There is another point also There is a benefit in studying overseas and an experience that the student gains which he can use positively when he returns home. So studying overseas (whether in Arab or non- Arab countries) can also be valuable. Q: Does the Kingdom receive students from abroad (either from Gulf or Arab countries)? And do you offer them university grants? A: Yes, we do. We have two programmes: A programme for students from the Gulf and some other Arab students and we also offer non-fee paying scholarships. Q: There is clear sponsorship from the Kingdom to the Palestinian people. Is there a higher education programme to receive Palestinian students and to offer them aid? A: Yes, that is what has been happening in the last few years. Palestinian students have already been placed in this programme and have entered some universities in the Kingdom. The programme also offers scholarships. Q: How many universities are there in the Kingdom and what is the ratio of female students in them? And do you foresee an increase in this figure? A: We currently have 11 universities in the Kingdom and there are talks of increasing this number and adding 7 others. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has issued his directives towards that. We would also like to open universities in remote areas where there are currently none and in other areas where there are separate colleges. We have also just completed plans to develop more universities in a short period of time and to transform colleges into universities as well as improve their programmes. These are the plans for existing universities. We do have also have 102 girls' colleges all over the Kingdom, even in small towns and there are also plans to develop those. They do not currently fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education but there are plans to get them to join the ministry.