Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, Friday said there are 278,000 seats in 24 Saudi universities for the academic year 2010-11 (1431/1432H) in the three tracks – regular, part-time and parallel-education students – a 12-percent increase over the previous academic year. Al-Anqari said the increase means Saudi universities will admit about 90 percent of this year's male and female secondary school graduates. He pointed out that private universities and colleges would provide 15,000 additional seats. The minister said this number does not include seats available in other post-secondary education tracks including colleges and colleges of technology belonging to the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Institute of Public Administration, university colleges in Jubail and Yanbu and admissions in the military sector. All post-secondary education institutions are well prepared to accept all secondary school graduates this year, he added. Al-Anqari said procedures for assigning students among specializations and university faculties is subject to criteria approved by university councils. He said experience in many countries has proved the importance of these criteria and the need to comply with them. The universities' criteria and capacities are such that every student may not get their first choice, Al-Anqari said. “It is not always possible to admit the students to the specializations of their choice because the capacity of each faculty is limited and cannot be exceeded,” he said. “In addition, some faculties require high standards in scientific fields and this must be followed.” Al-Anqari pointed out that there is a wide choice for every student because seats are available in alternative specializations and in universities throughout the Kingdom. He said the ministry is keen to link admission capacities with specializations needed by society and the labor market.
