TAIF: Over 250 prison inmates, 19 of whom are sentenced to beheading, have sat mid-year examinations for 10 Saudi universities across the Kingdom after they enrolled in courses conducted in prison through “electronic classes”. According to Haidar Al-Haidar, Assistant Director General of Prisons for Reform and Rehabilitation, some universities were hesitant to admit prisoners as part-time students, but Al-Baha and Al-Qassim universities responded by launching in-prison classes allowing inmates to study as full-time students through “electronic classrooms” with secure Internet services to communicate with their centers of learning. According to Al-Haidar, interest from prisoners in pursuing university education has increased since a Royal Order exempted inmates from tuition fees. “Two hundred and fifty-seven male inmates and one female prisoner have now sat their mid-year examinations through part-time and distance learning, and we are working with other universities to expand the scheme,” Al
