E-Media:
Jeddah – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has approved the establishment of four universities grouping dozens of existing colleges for medicine, engineering, computer sciences, architecture, design and other specialties.
The universities will be located in Dammam city and the provinces of Kharj, Shaqrah and Majma'ah.
The decision of the Higher Education Council chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was based on student saturation levels at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh and King Faisal University (KFU) in Dammam, Higher Education Minister Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anghari said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency.
The levels were high and raised the possibility of academic and research performance being affected, Al-Anghari said. KSU has 73 colleges in 15 provinces with a total enrollment of 120, 000 students; KFU has 66, 000 students in 38 colleges spread across six provinces.
The new university in Dammam will encompass 24 existing colleges in Dammam, Qatif, Jubail, Hafr Al-Baten, Nairyia and Khafji affiliated to it.
In Kharj, the university will incorporate 20 existing colleges in Kharj, Dalm, Aflaj, Wadi Al-Dawaser, Hotat Bani Tamim and Salail. The Shaqra university will have 21 colleges in Shaqra, Huraimla, Quway'eia, Dawadmi, Sajer, Darma, Afif, Thadiq and Al-Mahmal.
The Al-Majma'ah university will be linked to 12 existing colleges in Majma'ah, Ghat, Zulfi, Hotat Sudair and Ramah.