The Most Significant National Trends for Saudi Higher Education in Light of the Kingdom’s Ninth Development Plan

The “The Most Significant National Trends for Saudi Higher Education in Light of the Kingdom’s Ninth Development Plan” report was basically prepared in the framework of the Majmaah University strategic plan formulation efforts and environmental scanning diagnostic reports for the status quo. In essence, this report attempts to identify the current national trends for higher education in the Kingdom of Arabia Saudia.
A case in point here is that recognizing the most dominant national trend for higher education in the Kingdom-based on available authenticated sources of such ministries as Higher Education as well as Economy and Planning in addition to different Saudi universities-is considered, in fact, among the most pivotal inputs to be precisely explored when formulating the Majmaah University strategic trends and directions.
In this context, the strategic partner (i.e. the AOTD) has prepared a number of diagnostic studies and reports with the aim of examining the dominant general trend of higher education at the national Saudi level, including:
íThe higher education national trends based on the kingdom’s Ninth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2014) report;
íThe higher education national trends in light of the current higher education strategic plan (i.e. Horizons);
íThe higher education national trends in light of the strategic plans adopted by various Saudi universities report; and
íPreparing a number of survey reports for the status quo via paying visits to a selected sample of officials and partners (i.e. stakeholders).
More specifically, this current study was prepared to focus on identifying the most significant national trends for Saudi higher education in light of the kingdom’s Ninth Development Plan based on the core notion that the educational system represents one of the most fundamental corner-stones for pushing the wheel of development in the kingdom.
Notably, the actual fruits and concrete effects of education are closely associated with fulfilling both individual aspirations as well as societal needs and development in a multitude of knowledge and productive fields. Accordingly; from this perspective, envisioning the future of the existing higher education system, identifying the essential themes of its dominant national trends as well as required strategies for its development are all considered among the most fundamental tasks assigned to effective development plans.
It’s against this backdrop that the current report highlights the fact that the kingdom’s Ninth Development Plan largely emphasizes the notion that education plays a central role in achieving and sustaining desired human development via expanding the scope of those diverse opportunities available for society individuals to acquire desired knowledge and skills in addition to their actual empowerment to make the utmost use of such acquired competencies.