Saudi Gazette The Ministry of Higher Education has acknowledged that universities in the Kingdom are in grave need of instructors from abroad and from the local expatriate community. The number of universities in the private sector has increased, and the government's universities are also expanding in numbers, size, and in the different fields of study made available to students. To fill this gap, universities must rely on and attract highly-educated and experienced faculty members. The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ahmad Al-Saif, said that the universities in the Kingdom are still seeking new professors. “To create a more positive and richer learning environment, every university should have some degree of a mixture of cultures in their faculties. In the best European universities, you will find faculty members from different backgrounds: from Pakistan, India, and Arab countries,” said Al-Saif. Exposure to different cultures teaches tolerance and understanding, broadens one's perspective, and improves communication skills. Under King Abdullah's financial aid program for studying abroad, thousands of Saudi students, both men and women, are currently attending universities outside the Kingdom, some of them in the world's largest and most prestigious universities. Many of these students are applying for Master's Degrees or PhDs. Once these Saudi students return to their homes, the Ministry of Higher Education hopes that they will have gained extensive knowledge and expertise, and will in turn teach in their country's universities. Many financial incentives and bonuses will be awarded to faculty members employed in the budding universities in remote areas and small towns. The goal is to pave the way for exemplary higher education in every region in the Kingdom. For example, the salaries of the university faculty in Al-Kharj village are 25 percent higher and in Hail the average salaries of university faculty are 40 percent higher than the average salaries of university faculty in larger cities. Al-Saif recently attended the graduation ceremony of students from the Arab Open University at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. In Saudi Arabia, 3,094 students are enrolled in the Arab Open University, which offers distance learning courses at reasonable costs and welcomes students of all ages and nationalities. A recent study revealed that the number of the university's students worldwide exceeded 30,000 male and female students. The university provides a feasible way to continue education, especially for women with young children. Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Arab Open University, announced plans to expand the university and open more branches and more varied disciplines of study. The Arab Open University is a non-profit organization and is funded by generous individuals and governments, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a leading supporter. “Distance learning will become the means of education in the future all over the world. Higher education is unattainable to many due to high costs and logistics. Therefore, more and more students are opting for distance learning which is a new concept in higher education and is gradually spreading,” said Prince Turki Bin Talal. __
