JOUF/AL-QURAYAT: The number of Saudi students studying abroad under the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques' External Scholarship Program has reached 109,000, said Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari, who also revealed that satellite TV channels focusing on higher education are in the works. Al-Anqari emphasized that the students are being prepared continuously as the program develops year after year. “Preparation of students for the sixth stage was concluded through holding a number of programs that were beneficial to students in Makkah, Riyadh, and the Western Region. A great deal of objectives was accomplished.” Students who study abroad outside the program, at their own expense, can face some issues because they do not benefit from the orientation program, but the ministry strives to help them receive information before they travel, Al-Anqari said. Students closer to home will benefit from satellite TV channels airing programs concerned with higher education, said Al-Anqari, who added that the nation's leadership has approved the project and the channels are being established. The minister also said hospitals will be established in all of the Kingdom's universities; work to build the facilities has started at some sites and it will not be long before construction begins at other universities.“Tenders will be opened in the coming days in order to award projects to contractors,” he said. “The hospitals will be educational and will directly serve the surrounding areas at the same time.” Al-Anqari said Al-Jouf Hospital has a 200-patient capacity and that it will be gradually raised to 800. In addition to the eventual provision of medical services, emerging universities in the Kingdom have created noticeable, increasing economic, social, and cultural activity in their regions, he said. He expects growth in these universities that is in line with others, along with increases in departments and university activities, integration among departments and facilities with the return of teaching assistants and faculty from their studies abroad. “Their return will have a great impact on the regions, in addition to the huge role the universities play now and in the future in the settling of residents in their original areas,” he said. Al-Anqari toured the campus of Al-Jouf University, where he inspected ongoing work on the complex, including the site of the science department, both of which are being constructed at a cost of about SR112 million. He called for more spending and boosting the amount of work being done on the projects so students can start their education as soon as possible.
