Saudi students leave Arab universities 

Saudi Students

Riyadh, (Saudi): As the frequent social turmoils affect peace of mind, many Saudi students would like to walk out of of Arab Universities of Egypt, Yement and Sudan.

The ongoing political unrest in these countries has drastically reduced the number of Saudi students studying at universities in Yemen, Egypt and Sudan. Instead, the fed-up Saudi students either turn to other muslim countries like Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain or even other Western countries. Now many do not care about the government funding and instead ready to spend from their pocket for higher studies as they badly need a peaceful study environment. 

Earlier there were several hundred students studying at Yemeni universities during 2011. But within three years, the total number of Saudi students have been limited to a mere 8o after after Saudi education authorities stopped sending students to the volatile country. Around 60 percent of the 500 students studying at Yemeni universities in 2011 are from the Kingdom’s southern region. Most used to study at the University of Science and Technology.

A Sudanese professor at the University of Khartoum said that the ongoing political turmoil in Sudan has reduced the number of students coming from Gulf countries by 30 percent. Egyptian universities, meanwhile, have become a hotbed of frequent protests by Mursi supporters since his ousting last July. Most of the Mursi supporters are students. Violent protest inside the campus have made serious security breakdown many times last year. Now protests have largely ended in clashes with security forces. Now government has granted police access to university campuses without prior permission.

Gulf universities in the United Arab Emirates are a prominent option in front of Saudi students. Some want their children to study in Bahrain. “Egypt has become a risky country, so I decided to send my children to the Gulf, where there are good universities and it is safe,” said Abdullah Al-Otaibi, who has two sons studying in Bahrain.
Adel Al-Quraishi, another Saudi wants to send his children abroad. “I do not like to study at Arab countries despite the low cost of living and good academic programs since the security situation in these countries is volatile.” he said.

Jordanian universities are still top Arab university destinations for Saudi students, while the country has ambitions to build a solid system of higher education.
Jordanian universities have succeeded in attracting many students from Gulf countries. Malaysia is the other destination which draws students due to its image as a muslim country.