The Minister of Higher Education has defended the allocation of 26 percent of the state's budget to education saying that education is the basic component of any nation's development. Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari made the remarks during a lecture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was attended by its Undersecretary for Information and Technology Affairs Prince Muhammad Bin Saud Bin Khaled. Dr. Al-Anqari praised King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his unlimited support for public and higher education and highlighted the steps that have been taking place in the sector. “Leading professors work at higher education institutions in the Kingdom and thousands of scholarships have been provided and still are provided for postgraduate studies,” he said. He also pointed out that over 80 percent of local university faculty members have been educated in the world's best universities. “The Minister of Higher Education seeks to construct more universities around the Kingdom's regions. The goal is to have 40 universities located all over the Kingdom in 25 years,” Dr. Al-Anqari said. He also announced that the Kingdom has set up a national commission of academic accreditation which will accredit public and private Saudi universities. Dr. Al-Anqari also paid tribute to the huge impact that the King Abdullah Scholarship Program is having on the country's youths. “Thanks to the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 131,600 male and female students are studying abroad in 30 countries.”
