THE Kingdom's ministries and public institutions have suffered for many years from the absence of job descriptions and qualifications. Many government authorities now tailor jobs to fit the size of the employee and not the opposite, only increasing disguised unemployment in the state. Employees work as if they receive their salaries from the Ministry of Social Affairs and not from the authority to which they contribute their performance and efforts in return for a monthly salary. The King Abdullah Scholarship Program was established years ago and so many Saudis were granted scholarships under the program that there wasn't a home in the Kingdom without a scholarship student abroad. This is magnificent, and its positive effects for the nation will be felt over the coming years, but its negative effects have already started appearing. Some scholarship students, on their return to the homeland, do not find jobs that match their field of specialization and their efforts in studying abroad for many years. Hence, the state ends up paying for specializations that may not be needed in the public or private sector. Recently, doubts started appearing about the scholarship program, with some questioning whether it should be stopped. The surprise was that it has continued in a new and different form, with scholarship students required to link with a certain authority before going abroad to study. They sign an agreement with the authority that they will work for it once they return after their studies abroad. Despite its launch and despite many applications being submitted to the participating authorities, the new scholarship scheme is still shrouded in mystery. Are students sent abroad on scholarships at the expense of the authority with which they have signed an agreement? Does this mean that he is an employee with this authority, subject to the conditions of the scholarship? Will he get half his salary, much like employees sent abroad on scholarships did in the past? All indicators are that this is the case, especially in the light of the agreements published by the majority of authorities participating, outlining the conditions for those accepted under the program. If this is the case, then it is a magnificent step forward in the state's project of increasing the nation's knowledge base. It is also a well-studied strategic plan for the future. However, if the guarantees in such agreements are not robust, and the Ministry of Education is left responsible for these new scholarship students, the program may fail in its new form. Without robust guarantees, many authorities will not fulfill their commitments to graduating students. Apart from this, it may also raise other questions: Is the sending students abroad on scholarships, signed for by various authorities, restricted only to external scholarships, or are scholarships in the Kingdom's universities also to be included? I think there are many questions that have been raised about the “Your job and your scholarship” program. It was a matter, of course, for the minister of education to hold a press conference to answer questions from the media and scholarship students. Does the word “job” preceding “scholarship” in the program's title mean that employment comes before a scholarship, or is it the other way round?
