Background about the public higher education in the Arabic Gulf State Essay

Background about the public higher education in the Arabic Gulf State Sadi Arabia , Qatar , UAE - Essay Example iversity for Petroleum and Minerals in 1963, King Abdul-Aziz University in 1967, Um Al-Qura University in 1967, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University in 1974, and King Faisal University in 1975 (Alamri 2011, p88). The increase in the number of universities necessitated the establishment of the Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s higher education has undergone significant growth in the last 10 years. The higher education system has developed to include 18 government universities, 18 primary teacher’s colleges for men, 80 primary teacher’s colleges for women, 37 colleges, and institutes for health, 12 technical colleges, and 33 private colleges and universities. It is important to note that number of private universities in increasing constantly (Alamri 2011, p89). The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education has put much emphasis on the development of higher education system. The ministry began an initiative to prepare a contemporary and a long-term plan for higher education. This will enable Saudi Arabia to fulfil most of the challenges in the creation of a sustainable academic process (AAFAQ 2005, p1). Saudi Arabia’s government sponsored human resources development has led to exponential growth in the quality and quantity of education. The number of students (male and female) in general and higher education phases have multiplied ten folds, from approximately 547, 000 students in 1970 to over 5.37 students in the year 2005. The persistent emphasis on human resources in the socio-economic development strategy has increased the quantity of students in higher education from 7, 000 in 1970 to approximately 604, 000 students in 2005. In other words, since the year 1970, the number of students multiplied by 86 times. In 2005, 58 percent of the students enrolled were female, while the other 42 percent was male. The number of female students enrolled at the bachelor level were 327, 500 (a representation of 64.7% of the undergraduates). The