May 26, 2006

THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES PATRONIZES THE CELEBRATION OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT. KING ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TWO UNIVERSITIES IN TABUK AND AL-BAHA. THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES APPROVES THE DECISION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FOUR COLLEGES IN MAKKAH AL MUKARRAMAH, DAWADMI, WADI AL-DAWASSIR AND ABHA. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz patronized the celebration of King Saud University on the 50th anniversary of its establishment. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also inaugurated a number of the university's projects and an exhibition held on this occasion and laid a foundation stone of the project of King Saud University's Scientific Oasis. Upon arrival at the venue, the King was received by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz , Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz , the Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Sattam Ibn Abdul Aziz , Vice Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Ahmed Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Rahman , the Governor of Diriyah; Dr. Khalid Ibn Mohammed Al-Anqari, the Minister of Higher Education and Dr. Abdullah Ibn Mohammed Al-Faisal, the University's Director. A speech ceremony was held on this occasion. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has underlined the important role being played by King Saud University in the service of the society, and said its 50th anniversary constitutes an important milestone in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Addressing the ceremony, King Abdullah underscored the tremendous achievements made by KSU over the past 50 years. King Saud opened the university on Nov. 6, 1957. It began with the College of Arts, which had only 21 students, of whom 18 were Saudis. "The history of this oldest university gives us a lesson that great men with their determination could transform dreams into miracles," Abdullah said. "When King Saud decided to establish this university, it was a historic decision. The university had a humble beginning in a small building with a very few number of students. Now it has grown into a big institution that passed out thousands of graduates who hold leading positions in the state," the king said in his keynote speech. King Abdullah commended the role of all those who contributed to KSU's progress. Universities are treasures of knowledge, the king said, adding that they transfer know-how from one generation to another. "It is a place where young men and women spend the beautiful days of their life," he said. King Abdullah noted the University's humble beginning, almost five decades ago, and said with the grace of Almighty Allah, King Saud University has been transformed into a gigantic academic institution. He pointed out that the graduates of the university now occupy key positions either at the governmental sector or at the private sector. "Moreover, the university has earned a good reputation throughout the world', he said. On this occasion, King Abdullah also announced the establishment of two new universities: one in Tabuk and the other in Baha. On his part, Minister of Higher Eduction Dr Khalid Al-Anqari highlighted the significance of the University, which was the first Saudi university, and said it has been steadily going ahead on the path of progress. He noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been holding high the banner of Islam, and that it will never give up Islam. Lauding the great attention given to the University by Saudi officials, he said King Abdullah had ordered allocation of an amount of SR 4 billion from the surplus of the budget to the projects of the higher education. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has given his approval to establish two new universities in the northern region of Tabuk and southern region of Baha. "This will bring the total number of government universities in the Kingdom to 17," Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari told the Saudi Press Agency. King Abdullah announced the plan to establish the two universities while attending the 50th anniversary celebrations of King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh. Speaking on the occasion, the University's Director Dr Abdullah Al-Faisal, said the University, which has been receiving generous support from the Saudi officials, has become a distinguished cultural center and a solid civilization base. KSU President Abdullah Al-Faisal said his university had received more than SR70 billion in financial assistance from the government to carry out various projects. He noted that the University has provided the country with more than 140,000 qualified graduates who have been positively contributing to the Kingdom's development process. "The University has become a center which includes more than 3000 highly qualified specialists in more than 400 domains of knowledge," he said. Later, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques watched a documentary film on the development of the university and inaugurated a number of University projects. Minister of Higher Education Dr Al-Anqari extended a shield to the King and another similar shield to Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz , the Deputy Prime Minister, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General. Later, the King opened the exhibition organized on the occasion. He also laid the foundation stone for the project of the scientific oasis of King Saud University. The ceremony was attended by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz , the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation, a number of other princes and senior officials. The Cabinet called for supporting science and social research centers through the expertise of Saudi academicians and joint agreements with reputed international research centers. It also urged the private sector to benefit from the favourable investment climate and invest in the higher education institutions as a national responsibility. A strategic, wide-ranging reform and development plan for university education is already on course for implementation during the next 25 years starting middle of 2007. The Ministry of Higher Education has designated the Research Institute of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (RI-KFUPM) to coordinate and present detailed studies of the plan. The reform in higher education will not only focus on universities but also will take necessary inputs from vocational training institutes, girls' colleges, and teachers' colleges. Universities, other educational institutions, the private business sectors, local and international consultants, large corporate groups such as Saudi Aramco and the Sabic-affiliated companies, parents and prominent individuals have been called upon and invited to submit their proposals to improve the Kingdom's higher education. Seventeen major studies have been proposed. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Premier and Chairman of Higher Education Council has approved a number of decisions taken by the council in its 39th session. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Ibn Mohammed Al-Anqari said that the approval included the establishment of Pharmacology College at Umm Al-Qura University; Dawadmi Governorate-based Sociology College, an affiliate to King Saud University; Wadi Al-Dawassir Governorate-based College of literature and Sciences, an affiliate to King Saud University and Abha-based Sociology College, an affiliate to King Khalid University. The King also approved the establishment of a number of supporting deanships at some universities and the forwarding of a number of annual reports of some universities to the Premier, the minister added. The King Saud University was founded in 1957 (1376/77 AH) as the Riyadh University and renamed in 1982 (1402/03 AH), had more than 2,600 teachers and more than 45,000 students in 2000/2001. As one of the first institutions of higher education in Saudi Arabia, it has on its register more than a quarter of all the Kingdom's university level students (male and female) and more than one-third of all the Kingdom's university and administrative staff. There are Colleges of Administrative Sciences, Agriculture, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (in Al-Qasim), Architecture and Planning, Arts, Computer Sciences, Dentistry, Economics and Administration (in Al-Qasim), Education (also in Abha), Engineering, Languages and Translation, Medicine (also in Abha and Al-Qasim), Applied Medical Sciences, Pharmacy and Science. There is also a College for Graduate Studies, a Center for Women's University Studies and an Arabic Language Institute, a Center for Continuing Education and an Institute of Languages. The King Saud University admits women. As early as 1961-1962 (1381-1382 AH) women were allowed to enroll as external students in the Colleges of Arts and Administrative Sciences. In 1975-1976 (1395-1396 AH), they were accepted as full-time students. The Center for Women's University Studies was established a year later, to provide a center for the development and supervision of all aspects of women's higher education. Women students now pursue their studies in a wide range of subjects including Arabic language, English language, geography, history, sociology and social work.