Alain Vallina

Ministry of Higher Education

Higher Education in Saudi Arabia Comprehensive development works are taking place across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all fields, and higher education is no exception; it is a pillar of the successful development in any country. A royal decree numbered 1/236 in 8/5/1395 AH (1975 AD) stipulated establishing Ministry of Higher Education to foresee executing the national higher education policy. The Minister of higher education is responsible for the execution of the government policy for university education. University education received generous support that made available new universities, colleges of science and applied fields and huge budget allocations. The twenty one government universities of Saudi Arabia, six private universities and eighteen private colleges, all of them host a plethora of disciplines that are not merely-academic. Ministry of Higher Education is adopting contemporary trends in scientific research and strategic planning. Those working in higher education have deeply recognized the constant changes facing in the field, from privatization to financing, foreign competition and yet the fluctuating requirements of labor market. Thus they reverted to preparing for the change by future planning and well-thought handling of these parameters; resulting in expansions, self-evaluation, initiating programs and creating organizations that focus on local and global endeavors. Here we present an overview of the most prolific establishments