May 11, 2022

English Language: To Be Excluded in New Saudi Scholarship

T The Saudi Government has announced changes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program. With recent changes, the government hopes of achieving its goal of sending 70,000 students abroad by 2030.

While the updates come as welcome news, a new development to the scholarship program is likely to cause worry for those wanting to learn English abroad.

According to the update, the new program will stop funding English studies in English-speaking countries such as America, the UK and Canada. This is a drastic shift from previous scholarships announced by the Saudi government. Since it launched in 2005, the King Abdullah Scholarship Program has sent over 10,000 students to the US in its first year, with 95% of scholarship students undergoing a year of English language training. With the new development, that number is set to reduce.

…the exclusion of ESL is disappointing to the industry looking for post-covid recovery…

Amongst many left disappointed with the new scholarship, one is Anders Ahlund, president of sales and marketing at EF language schools. He is of the opinion that Saudi Arabia is an important market for the company and that the exclusion of ESL is “disappointing to the industry looking for post-covid recovery”. Although, he did agree with some aspects of the new changes, more specifically, the increased mobility and generosity of the new scholarship program.

FLS International, a group of USA-based language schools, called the update a red flag and stated that language schools could see a “significant downturn” if other programs are phased out. They further added, “Most of the Saudi students that study in the US are sponsored, and these students will likely not continue if they lose government support.”

Reduction of removal of student funding abroad is not new in Saudi, earlier in 2018, the government blocked student aid to Canadian bound Saudi’s over diplomatic spat. The scholarships have also seen a decline with KASP becoming less generous, and implementing stricter requirements introduced in 2016 reducing the number of eligible students.

To combat scepticism about the scholarship, the government said the program is compatible with other scholarships, but it remained unclear if the existing paths will continue at the same scale. Hamad Al-Sheikh, Saudi’s minister of education said that English language preparation would be provided locally. This means that one could pursue English even at a local Saudi University. He also spoke about the “provider path” which will facilitate scholarships to the top 200 educational institutions in the world.

While many are still sceptical, there is belief that the new scholarship program will give students a chance to study and learn at the world’s best institutions through government support.

Posted in News and tagged News, Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, King Abdullah Scholarship Program, FLS International, EF Language Schools
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