المستخلص: |
This study questions the practicality of the initiatives for enhancing the accessibility of higher education in Saudi Arabia and the efforts to strengthen this system. Adopting 'desk-based research', the current study has been informed by data collected from 32 official website and published documents by state universities and Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia and relevant literature. Currently, the fastest expansion in higher education student enrolment rates is being witnessed in Saudi Arabia, with the student populations at higher education institutions doubling in less than five years. This trend transformed higher education from an elite to a mass and, finally, a universal education system between 1995 and 2013. Projections indicate that the trend of rising enrolment rates in higher education institutions will continue over the coming 25-30 years. This rapid and unprecedented increase in student population has several advantages. It allows higher education to be considered a democratic good accessible by all Saudi citizens aiming to improve their skills. The objective of the Higher Education for All initiative seems to have been realised, and universities are now more evenly distributed countrywide.
|