Our students who are studying abroad on scholarships and burning the midnight oil to make their dreams come true generally face a lot of challenges. They are, however, now facing a new challenge that has cropped up since the third phase of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program began. The challenges came about shortly after Dr. Azam Al-Dakheel was appointed Minister of Education. In a tweet on March 23, Al-Dakheel said: “The scholarship program is important for creating knowledge and distinguishing the experiences of others. The program will, therefore, continue to run and will be developed to achieve its maximum goals.”
The crisis between scholarship students and the ministry began when the ministry issued a decision on March 5 removing three key powers from cultural attachés and placing them directly at the discretion of the Ministry of Education. The ramifications of this are that the ministry is the only body able to promote students on to the next and subsequent levels of their scholarships, that students wishing to self-fund their studies abroad would need the ministry's approval, and that students who are self-funding their studies abroad can only secure a scholarship with the ministry's approval. Many Saudi students abroad are upset with the decision and have taken to social media to vent their frustration, even creating a hashtag to reflect this: decision#of scholarship#promotion#is#unfair.
The first condition has particularly annoyed students as it affects many and has shattered their dreams. Students who study abroad on certain programs are now unable to apply to their local Saudi mission to complete their further studies and get promoted on to the next level. This means that if students are studying abroad, they will have to return home once their program comes to an end.
One of the students described the difficulties in the following way: “It's a huge difficulty. Students not on scholarships have to sell their cars, end their lease agreements and sell their furniture. The difficulties are even greater for those who have families.”
Another said: “Anyone who wants to pursue studies abroad has to return to the Kingdom and apply for a new scholarship and wait for approval. If he stays more than five months in the Kingdom, he has to apply for a new student visa and move his kids to different schools, rent a new house, buy new furniture, apply for a new phone number, open a new bank account and get new car insurance. If the scholarship takes more than six months, things will get more complicated and married couples will find themselves in difficulties. Should they enroll their kids in school and wait for the scholarship? Should they search for work to provide for their families? Or should they beg for money from their families to help them get by?”
One student told me that the number of stranded students who are facing the above problems is close to 100,000. I am not sure about this figure, which would mean that half of the students abroad are facing difficulties, as we currently have around 200,000 students studying overseas.
As you can see, a student who completes his scholarship and returns home now has to wait for approval for a scholarship for higher studies. These procedures are time-consuming and back-breaking for families and children alike.
The minister said the ministry is working on a new plan to organize the procedures of the scholarship program to ensure that the results reflect positively on the Kingdom's economy and development. He also said that they are revamping the program in order to ensure that students do not major in fields that are not in high demand in the Kingdom.
Perhaps the ministry needs to consider the circumstances of students studying abroad and expedite the procedures for approving their scholarships. After all, it is not the fault of students that the ministry takes a long time assessing applications. Students should not bear the losses alone and see their dreams collapse in front of their eyes. The ministry should talk to them and listen to them and help them overcome the difficulties they face abroad.
