DAMMAM: The number of Saudi students enrolled in higher education abroad is increasing and will reach 130,000 this year, according to Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Mousa, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education for Cultural Mission. Al-Mousa met here Sunday at the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce and Industry with leading businessmen and businesswomen and impressed upon them the expertise of these students and urged the business community to provide them employment upon their return to the Kingdom. He said during the next ten years these Saudi students will return to take up responsible jobs that will meet the human resources needs of the Kingdom. He said these Saudi students are pursuing higher education in some 500 universities and colleges around the world. “The private business sector should take advantage of the expertise of our overseas students who are trained and educated in various disciplines by providing them with suitable jobs according to their specialization and the demands of the Saudi job market,” Al-Mousa said. There are at present 106,095 Saudi students pursuing higher education overseas, 69 percent of them are male students and 31 percent are female. Al-Mousa said 30 percent of these students are studying in the United States, 15 percent in the United Kingdom, 11 percent in Canada, eight percent in Australia, and the rest are in universities in countries like Germany, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Holland, Netherlands, Middle Eastern countries, and others. According to Al-Mousa, 26 percent of these students are in business management and economics programs, 14 percent in computer and information technology, 15 percent in medicine and medical sciences, 10 percent in engineering, and the remaining in various courses. Of the current 106,095 Saudi students enrolled in universities and colleges overseas, 47,397 are taking bachelor degrees, 22,370 pursuing master's degrees, 5,026 completing their doctorate degrees, and the rest are involved in other levels of education and specialization. Responding to the call of Al-Mousa, Asharqia Chamber secretary general Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al-Wabel assured the undersecretary that local businessmen and businesswomen will see to it that returning Saudi students who completed their education overseas will be provided with job opportunities, adding that there is longstanding cooperation between Asharqia Chamber and the Ministry of Higher Education in supporting the Kingdom's efforts in providing job opportunities for qualified citizens.
