Social Progress and Increased Income - Essay Example

Social Progress and Increased Income It is convenient, as a former Chevening scholar, to show why and how scholarships are vital for economic development. A scholarship programme is a financial aid for students studying within or outside their home country. In order to explain the necessity of scholarships, therefore, an understanding of the value of education is necessary. Education is the pillar of economic growth and social stability and every country needs to invest hugely in human capital. Education boosts people’s productivity and creativity. It promotes entrepreneurial and technological advancement. To secure social progress and increased income, education is paramount. The second millennium development goal (MDG) which is achievement of universal primary education is critical in the achievement of other MDGs. Scholars and practitioners propagate for education and research as useful strategies for poverty eradication in Africa. In Africa, there has been an ever-increasing demand for education at all levels. The challenge is at the university level as it endeavours to boost economic development, eradicate poverty and maximize use of natural resources. However, this rising demand exceeds the rate of growth of available resources to satisfy the demand. An empirical research by DFID shows that despite public expenditure restraint under different programmes of macroeconomic adjustment, there has been a sound increase in government expenditure in education in many African countries. Due to increased participation and population growth, the average public expenditure per student has either stuck at low levels or gone down. The case is worsened after debt costs are taken into account. Moreover, developing countries face both quantitative and qualitative problems in education whereby there are few universities and research centres coupled with poor facilities and limited quality academic staff. For instance, the public and private universities in Angola have few post-graduate programmes and limited fields of specialisation and research centres hence the need for constant improvement. Scholarships to study abroad are therefore justifiable. Studying in developed world enables the students to acquire new scientific knowledge and skills unavailable in their home countries and live in multicultural environments where people are fetched from all over the world. His Excellency Angolan Minister of Economy, Prof Manuel Junior, rightly stated that developing countries should benefit from globalisation by sending more students to the developed world to learn new skills that can boost their economies. It is worth to note that pursuing academic or vocational programmes abroad is dear and demands constant financial aid. Scholarships are thus vital in affording studies that were otherwise unaffordable. In return, the beneficiaries develop their potentials by sharpening their skills and knowledge to transform their societies through economic development. However, it is salient to note that scholarships can be misused and become detrimental. This occurs when recipients use their awards as a way of escaping their countries to live quality life in developed countries. Resultantly, there is waste of resources and brain drain that bring economic doom. For scholarship to boost economic development, the following is mandatory: scholarship awards should be based on meritocracy and transparency. Beneficiaries should demonstrate intellectual prowess to study and what visions they have for their countries. In addition to this, they must define their view about the role they will play for socio-economic development. Secondly, scholarships information must be accessible to all to elicit wide applications and the selection criteria well explained to avoid disappointment for the unlucky applicants. The more the applicants for any scholarship programme, the higher the chances of getting the best candidates who will later be vital in economic development of their countries. The third necessity is follow up of scholars after their studies. There is need to know how the people you sponsored faired after studies. This can be of help in reviewing future selection criteriai. Introduction Recognizing the fact that knowledge is the foundation of the renaissance of nations, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given a unique attention to education sector. Due to his passion for human development, the custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud created the King Abdullah Scholarship Program under the Ministry of Higher Education in order to serve the needs for specialized national cadres. He also wanted to prepare specialized national human resources that are prepared in distinguished foreign universities. The program is designed to supply Saudi universities, public and private sectors with highly qualified citizens in an effective manner so that they may compete internationally in the labor market and various fields of scientific research. To achieve these aims, King Abdullah issued a royal decree on 17/4/1426H (25/5/2005) to launch this program, which continued for five years. The program sent a batch of students to study in the United States of America and then broadened later to include a number of advanced countries in diverse fields of specialization in order to meet the needs of the labor market in Saudi Arabia. After the first five years of the program, the ministry was convinced that it had realized its goals hence requested King Abdullah to renew the program for five more years from 1431H (2010). The King graciously accented to this on 4/3/1431H (18/2/2010) to enable more young Saudi men and women to realize their ambitions and aspirations and supply the government and private sectors with highly qualified labor force. The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) to the United States is a specialized agency created by the Saudi government to administer programs and policies to cater for educational and cultural needs of Saudi people studying in the United States. It is also an intermediary between US educational institutions and the Kingdom in relation to culture, education and science. SACM is under the auspices of H.R.H Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the US. Its administration, finance and student affairs are referred to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education. The first Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the United States was established in 1951 to look after the first group of Saudi students who went to study in the US. The mission operated from the Saudi Arabian Mission to the United Nations in New York. In the year 1956, the mission moved to an independent office in New York under the name of "Saudi Cultural Office in America". It was tasked for the welfare of forty-eight students by that time. In the year 1975 the office relocated to Houston, Texas. King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program helps students pursue bachelors, masters and doctorate degree programs and medical fellowships in world’s best universities. The needs of the government, national corporations and the private sector are key determinants of the areas of study to be awarded scholarships. The objective here is to meet the demands of the labor market across the kingdom. The young Saudi beneficiaries are charged to impact hugely in developing both the government and the private sectors. The mission here is to actively develop and qualify Saudi human resource to be: High caliber base in Saudi universities, public and private sectors World-competitive in the work market and academic research At its inception in 2005, this program (KASP) received short extensions to 2007 and 2009. A major extension was announced early in the year to keep the program operational up to 2020. The Kingdom is therefore responsive in addressing the growing demand of higher education of the youth in Saudi Arabia and satisfies the job market and the economic demands to compete greatly in the world. Budget The scholarship program (KASP) receives from the Saudi government approximately 1.782 billion EUR to fund 125,000 students fully for undergraduate and graduate programmes abroad. The country clearly upholds and emphasizes the significance of education for development. Today, Saudi Arabia is a leading country in annual expenditure on education, with an impressive 25% of its GDP going into the advancement of education. In less than four score years, Saudi Arabia has managed to: build 31,798 schools, build 68 technical institutions, build 24 universities, train 435,343 academic staff, educate 5,106,162 students and provide free tuition, text books, and healthcare for more than 5 million students. The literacy rate in Saudi Arabia has also risen to 83% from 10%ii. Assimilation into the U.S The biggest number of Saudi student ambassadors is in the United States at more than 90,000 Saudi students in 1000 universities across all the fifty states. The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) in Washington D.C supports these students and this ensures student success. SACM provides administrative assistance in academic affairs, information technology, social affairs, finances, and cultural affairs to assist in the assimilation of Saudis in the American community. Through KASP, Saudi students are not only students but also teachers to other cultures. In their already established 100 students’ clubs in 39 states, the students teach others about Saudi Arabian culture. While Saudi Arabian students flying abroad are eager to experience and educate other cultures, some others are slow in making this resolve. An inspiring education environment is cultivated by diversity and this in return fosters the spirit of tolerance especially among the Saudis and the Americans. WES Evaluations According to World Education Services (WES) about Saudi students immigrating to US for studies: 66% of Saudi applicants for WES evaluations have already completed a bachelor degree. In the year 2010/2011 the best three fields of study among Saudi students in US were intensive English, engineering, and business management. Most of them do not apply for masters courses (20%) but rather undergraduate level (48%) or other (30%). They mainly apply for health sciences (21%), business marketing & finance (20%). and computer sciences (14%) 50% of the applicants were in the age bracket of 25-28 Men comprised of 70% of the applicants in 2011 while women were 30% having grown from 25% in 2008. Vision To prepare distinguished generations for a society built upon a knowledge-based economy. Mission To prepare and qualify Saudi human resource in an effective manner so that they will be able to compete on an international level in the labor market and the different areas of scientific research, and thereby become an important source of supply of highly qualified individuals for Saudi universities as well as the government and private sectors. Goals Work to bring about a high level of academic and professional standards through the foreign scholarship program To sponsor qualified Saudis for study in the best universities around the world Build up qualified and professional Saudi staff in the work environment Exchange scientific, educational and cultural experiences with countries worldwide Raise and develop the level of professionalism among Saudis Study Levels and Academic Disciplines Different Saudi students pursue different academic disciplines needed by government and the private sector. Undergraduate students study medicine, medical sciences and health sciences while postgraduate students pursue courses like medicine and dentistry, pharmacy, medical sciences like radiology, medical laboratories and medical technology, engineering courses like civil, architectural, electric, mechanical, industrial, chemical, and communications engineering, computer courses like computer engineering and computer science, pure sciences like mathematics, physics and chemistry, as well as other disciplines Conditions for Acceptance in the Scholarship Program There are set conditions for acceptance in the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, which are subject to periodic review as circumstances and directives change. The following are the requirements for qualification for the year 1432H (2011): The applicant must fulfill the age requirement for each level of study The applicant must be a Saudi citizen unemployed by the government Data accuracy is necessary. Any discrepancy that violates the conditions for acceptance shall lead to automatic disqualification He/she must be ready to study full-time as they live in the designated country Female applicants must have a legal male companion to travel and remain with her until the end of her study One's non-Saudi degree must be validated by the Ministry of Higher Education and a copy of the degree in Arabic must be produced Nominations shall be Kingdom-wide in respect to the academic disciplines targeted Special Conditions for Acceptance in the Program for the Doctoral Degree at least a 'very good' grade point average at the Master's level not more than 30 years of age a validated non-Saudi degree if the degree was awarded outside the Kingdom a maximum of five years since the award of the Master's degree Special Conditions for Acceptance in the Program for the Master's Degree at least a grade point average of 2.75 out of 4.00 or 3.75 out of 5.00 or 80 out of 100 at the Bachelor's level not more than 27 years of age a maximum of five years since the award of the Bachelor's degree a non-Saudi degree must be validated by the relevant agency prior to application Special Conditions for Acceptance in the Program for the Medical Fellowship The applicant must have been accepted at a prestigious institution recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education for the medical fellowship level a non-Saudi degree must be validated by the relevant agency prior to application Special Conditions for Acceptance in the Program for the Bachelor's Degree (Application is restricted to medical specialties) not more than 22 years of age one must pass a general aptitude test and score 80% and above one must pass an achievement test and score 80% and above at least 90% secondary school grade in the physical sciences division or its equivalent a maximum of three years since one graduated from secondary school a non-Saudi degree must be validated by the relevant agency prior to application Read More