Education gets SR81.5b boostBy Abdul Muhsin Al-Harithy Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH – King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has directed officials in various state institutions to shoulder their responsibilities and duties toward religion, nation and the people. Addressing officials following the inauguration and the foundation stone laying ceremony for university projects worth SR81.5 billion, the King said, “I ask you not to keep doorkeepers at your offices nor should you close the door on the people because all of you and we are servants of the people and the nation, servants of our religion before anything else. We will not move one step away from this religion, God willing, as it is the religion of pride, dignity, loyalty and morals. We cannot deviate from this path.” The King Monday launched new campuses of Jazan, Taif, Tabuk, Hail, Baha, Najran, Al-Jouf, Majmaah and Shaqra universities, Prince Salman University in Al-Kharj, and Northern Province University. Other higher education facilities opened by the King are branches of King Abdulaziz University in North Jeddah and Rabigh, King Abdullah City for Girls at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, the new campus for girls at King Saud University and the girls' colleges complex at Umm Al-Qura University. Sixteen university campuses will be constructed in phase two, which visualizes building 166 new colleges, 161 support service projects, 10,841 housing units and 12 university hospitals with 3,800 beds. The new university projects covering all regions of the country will bring about an educational renaissance in the Kingdom and boost its progress and prosperity. The number of government universities in the Kingdom has jumped from 15 in 2004 to 32 today — an increase of 113 percent. During the same period the number of colleges rose from 314 to 452 (43.9 percent), teaching staff increased by 71.6 percent to 47,997 and research papers by 73.3 percent to 3,047. Total government spending on higher education increased from SR13.37 billion to SR 46.9 billion. Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, said King Abdullah has high hopes for the quality of higher education in the country. “We can turn ambitions and hopes into reality through hard work and firm determination,” the minister said. He said most of the work in the first stage of the project has already been completed and studies in the universities have already begun. Studies in other universities will start next year. Meanwhile, senior government officials and academicians have praised the King for his unlimited support to the higher education sector. Judges promoted King Abdullah has ordered the promotion and appointment of 51 judges at various ranks. Hailing the decision, Dr. Muhammad Al-Issa, Minister of Justice, said the King has always supported the country's judiciary. __
