The Ministry of Higher Education announced that 258,617 students have been admitted to 25 Saudi government universities across the Kingdom for the 2012-2013 academic year. Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Alhizan, a ministry spokesman said the number of students represented more than 71 percent of the total seats available numbering to 360,343 seats. By the end of last week 126,833 male students and 131,784 female students had been accepted. He said 87 percent of the applicants were admitted to the regular full-time programs and 5 percent were accepted in membership programs, while 8 percent were accepted in parallel-education programs. The ministry spokesman pointed out that there are still 101,726 seats vacant, of which 56,042 seats are for male and 45,684 for female students, according to a report published today by Jeddah-based Arab News. Alhizan noted that the Ministry of Higher Education allowed students to identify the names of admitted students through its college admissions website, where the Higher Education Statistics Center provides immediate reports on the status of acceptance and developments. The admission procedures have been smooth, said Alhizan, thanks to early coordination between the ministry and universities to serve students in a proper manner. He lauded the generous support provided by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz and the crown prince for the higher education sector and its institutions.
