RIYADH — King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques who heads the Council of Higher Education, has approved a number of decisions adopted by the council's 70th session in Riyadh Saturday. Khaled Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, said the council approved the establishment of a business management and technology university in Jeddah, nine new colleges, several institutes and financial support to establish scientific chairs. The council also approved annual reports of universities. The new projects include a college at Adi'm Center affiliated with Al-Laith University with faculties for sciences (mathematics and biology), computer science and Arabic language. The council also approved converting the systems department at the Faculty of Economics and Administration at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah to an independent Faculty of Law with separate branches for personal law and general law. A new medical college will be built in Bisha. Affiliated with King Khaled University, the medical college will have 13 departments: surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, community medicine, gynecology and obstetrics, pathology, anatomy and pharmacology. The council gave the go-ahead for setting up a Faculty of Engineering at King Khaled University in Bisha. The faculty will have branches for mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical and biomedical engineering and architecture. The council endorsed a college in Sabya governorate with departments for nursing, radiology, chemistry, mathematics, English language (translation), computer science, special education and accountancy. In addition, faculties of science and arts affiliated with Qassim University at Al-Aaiyoun governorate were also approved. King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran will have new faculties of petroleum and geology with departments for petroleum engineering, geophysics and mining engineering. The council also approved some institutes, deanships, centers and departments in other universities. It endorsed a memorandum of understanding between King Saud University and Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic. — SG
