JEDDAH, 3 October 2006 -- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will soon lay the foundation stone of the Tabuk University, the first center of higher learning in the Kingdom's northern region.
In a statement on the occasion, Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd ibn Sultan said the new university would change the face of the Tabuk region, acting as a catalyst for the region's overall development.
The first phase of the project, spreading over an area of nine million square meters, will cost about SR1 billion ($375 million). The university will have 16 colleges for boys and girls.
Prince Fahd inspected the designs and models of the university project including the university building, offices of deans and accommodation facilities for both teachers and students.
Ali Suleiman Al-Attiyah, supervisor of administrative and financial affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education, said the ministry would invite tenders for building the Tabuk University campus by the end of Ramadan.
He said work on four colleges -- College of Medicine, College of Science, Community College and College of Applied Sciences -- would start soon.
King Abdullah is scheduled to visit Tabuk, Al-Jouf and the Northern Border Region soon on the third leg of a nationwide tour after taking over power in August 2005. The next tour will cover the southern regions of Najran, Jizan and Asir.
During his last tour, Abdullah launched two new universities in Qasim and Hail. Earlier this year, the king announced plans to establish two new universities in Tabuk and Baha, bringing the total number of government universities in the Kingdom to 17. Other universities are located in Riyadh (three), Madinah (two), Jeddah, Makkah, Dammam, Dhahran, Abha, Qasim, Taif, Jizan, Al-Jouf and Hail.
The Kingdom gives top priority to education and training. The current budget has allocated SR87.3 billion ($23.28 billion) -- 26 percent of the SR335-billion budget ($89.3 billion) -- for education.
Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari noted King Abdullah's efforts to promote education in the Kingdom by approving new universities and colleges. He said the king had allocated SR4 billion ($1.06 billion) from the budget surplus for higher educational projects across the country.
The 2006 national budget includes allocations for the construction of three new universities in Jizan, Hail and Al-Jouf, 2,700 new schools, three new technical colleges and 15 vocational training centers.
The government has also announced plans to strengthen existing universities by establishing 85 new colleges. Three new university hospitals will be established while the existing university hospitals will be upgraded, it added.
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2006
