The relatively low international ranking of Saudi universities has moved the Education Affairs and Scholarly Research Committee at the Shoura Council to submit a comprehensive reform study of higher education to the King for approval, Shoura Council sources said. The new reform study the Saudi higher education system focuses on total independence of universities, which would eventually make them break away from central authority of the Ministry of Higher Education and improve conditions of academic freedom. The reform study has also made the universities subject to the international standards of academic accreditations, holding them accountable for any "unsatisfactory" future ranking, said Kheder Al-Qurashi, a Shoura Council member. Meanwhile, Ahmad Bin Mufarrih, Deputy Chairman of the Shoura Council's education committee, said that they are going to complete, within six months, another reform study of public education and assessment commission, known as Qiyas. The study aims at creating a new face to replace traditional public education in the Kingdom, blamed for poor quality of high school graduates, he said.
