Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Several Saudi graduates have expressed their anguish over the increasing appointment of relatives by university presidents and officials in academic posts at the Kingdom's institutions of higher learning and urged authorities to stop this negative practice to achieve academic excellence. Official documents leaked from a university showed that at least eight relatives of its president were holding academic posts at the institution. Two of the president's sons work as assistant lecturers in the College of Business while one of his daughters work in the College of Applied Sciences. His fourth son has been appointed assistant lecturer at the College of Computer Science. The president has appointed two daughters of his brother as lecturers at Deanship for Library Affairs and Institute of Education and the youngest daughter as assistant lecturer at the College of Science. "A son of his brother has been appointed assistant lecturer at the College of Computer Science," said an informed source while talking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette. A senior official of the same university has used his influence or wasta to get his daughter appointed as technician at the College of Medicine while the brother of a professor works as a head of department in one of the university's faculties. The engineering college at the university has appointed two members of the same family; the father works as dean of the college while his son has been named assistant professor. The daughter of the dean of the Faculty of Administration has got the job of assistant lecturer thanks to her father. Two daughters of the former dean of the College of Engineering have got jobs as professor at the College of Economics and lecturer at the College of Dentistry. The son of a former university president holds the position of associate professor at the College of Medicine. This placement looks genuine as the man is a Harvard graduate. The daughter of a professor at the College of Literature works as a professor at the College of Medicine. "It was very easy to find out the appointment of family members as academic staff from their names. This has irked university graduates who do not find jobs," the source said. "We don't have to dwell deep in our research to find out family connections in academic appointments at Saudi universities. However, we raise the question whether family relations had any role in those placements, without considering academic qualifications," the source said.
