Merger prompts fears for future of higher education

The world’s largest oil exporter is aiming to transform its higher education system. With the recent appointment of Dr Azzam Al-Dakhil as the new Education Minister, dramatic changes have taken place. The biggest was the merging of the two ministries – the Higher Education and Education ministries – into one ministry called the Education Ministry.

This surprising move has generated a number of fears among academics working in the higher education sector. Although large investments in higher education have led to a sharp increase in the number of universities in Saudi Arabia, this move might be seen to threaten or restrict this process.

In a recent article in the Times Higher Education, Professor Philip Altbach laid out a road map for emerging universities in Saudi Arabia to achieve world-class status. He cautiously stated that bureaucratic and administrative structures might stand in the way of this goal.

A merger with the notoriously bureaucratic Education Ministry is viewed as a step in the wrong direction and is seen as adding more administrative structures.

Although the country has invested heavily in recent years in higher education in terms of the number of its universities, student enrolment and scholarship programmes, it is feared that the merger might jeopardise the rapid growth in government spending on excellence and productivity.

Some 25% of last year’s budget was devoted to education, one of the highest levels in the world. Further, spending on higher education grew steadily to nearly 10% of the budget under the late King Abdullah. However, the old education ministry is known for delays in its projects and its unwise spending over the years. The concern is that the merger might slow down government spending and steer the wave of steady growth towards a bureaucratic siding.

Autonomy

The merger might also create serious problems and confusion regarding universities’ autonomy. The government policy was to push higher education institutions towards a knowledge economy and world-class status. As a result, a number of practices and incentives related to productivity and autonomy in the academic profession were promoted.

The merger contradicts this policy and marks a step back to the old way of doing things whereby academic institutions are seen as only about teaching and preparing students for the jobs market. Advocates of the move argue that the new ministry will be the governing body that is responsible for students from elementary stage to the university level.

However, this means more emphasis on teaching and leaves few resources for research and world-class performance – with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology or KAUST – being an exception. Surely, there is a lack of clarity about this. It is still unclear how the new ministry is going to balance what it wants to happen and what is actually happening. If this is the case, policy-makers have to be clear in defining the roles and missions of universities.

Overall, the surprising move to merge the two ministries is feared to represent a policy drift in higher education in Saudi Arabia. It is unclear how the legitimate concerns of autonomy and excellence will be addressed, but what is true is that Saudi Arabia’s higher education system is undergoing cosmetic surgery. Only time will tell if this is for the worse or the best.

Ruwayshid Alruwaili is assistant professor in the languages and translation department of Northern Borders University, Saudi Arabia.