Washington: Saudi Arabia’s international scholarship programme, launched when King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz took the throne in 2005, is a key part of his efforts to equip future generations in handling the country’s main challenges including a fast-growing population.
Since taking over, King Abdullah has emphasised scientific education and exposure to foreign countries as keys to combat extremism and transform Saudi Arabia into a modern state. This year, the scholarship programme has about 130,000 young people studying around the world, at an estimated cost of at least $5 billion (18.36 billion) since the programme began.
The king’s efforts to modernise, including the scholarship programme, have led to constant tension between Western-influenced Saudis and a religiously educated core who hold heavy sway over society and reject modernisation because of obvious associations with the West.
That internal tension was on display this month when Saudi Arabia, under threat of a ban from the Olympic Games, finally ended its status as the last Olympic nation to refuse to include women on its teams.
In the coming years, Saudi Arabia will likely face mounting pressure to modernise economically and politically as the country spends down its oil wealth. The kingdom will need an educated middle class, economists say, if it is to build a productive private sector and create jobs for millions of young Saudis.
The foreign scholarship programme can create challenges for some students, particularly women, when they try to reintegrate into Saudi society after experiencing much more freedom abroad, some foreign students say. Unlike many international students who study in the US, most Saudi youth return to their home country after receiving their degrees, said James B. Smith, US ambassador to Saudi Arabia since 2009.
King Abdullah initiated the scholarship programme after persuading US officials, particularly former president George W. Bush, to reopen the student visa service after 9/11. At a pivotal meeting in 2005 at the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, King Abdullah convinced Bush that the education programme was crucial for the two countries’ long-term relationship.
“The impassioned plea that the king made for this, and the long-term importance of the relationship, really made an impression on president Bush,” said Frances Townsend, former homeland security adviser, who attended the 2005 meeting.
