Syrian students face hurdles in entering Saudi universities

DAMMAM: Syrian students wanting to register at Saudi universities are still having a hard time with procedures despite the fact that 23 universities in the Kingdom said they would accept students from that country.
The Education Ministry said that Saudi universities must accept 3,000 students according to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program to help Syrian students. These are separate from the non-Saudis who are accepted at the Kingdom’s universities.
The problem is that Syrian students have to accredit their certificates with the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the Saudi Cultural attaché section in Damascus. They are finding it increasingly hard to do so because most of the Syrians in the Kingdom are from their country’s rural areas, which are outside government rule, and there are no longer roads to get to the Syrian capital. Therefore they are unable to certify their secondary school certificates. There has been no Saudi diplomatic representation in Syria for a number of years.
However, 23 Saudi universities are still obliged to accept Syrian students according to conditions that may be found on their websites. It said that if these students are rejected it is because they have not met the conditions put forward by the Ministry of Education.
Universities and colleges have launched initiatives to give Syrian achievers scholarships in addition to public universities specifying conditions and specific places for them as part of those non-Saudis accepted on scholarships to study in public universities.
Universities stated on their websites that if Syrian students want to register they must fulfill the conditions which state they must have secondary school certificates accredited by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, have a valid passport, a photograph, a valid visa and entry into the Kingdom as a “visitor” before Oct. 10, 2015 and be between 17 and 25 years of age.
A Ministry of Education source confirmed the acceptance of Syrian students after the royal gesture was made in Saudi universities but some of these students are still facing difficulties.
Some Syrian students said “there are new opportunities for high achievers to get scholarships in private universities and colleges after undergoing tests.