By Khaled Al-Faqeeh
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
QUNFUDAH — The people of Qunfudah have called for the establishment of an independent university in their city to accommodate the growing number of students who graduate from 110 secondary schools and want to pursue higher studies in various specializations.
"Hundreds boys and girls graduate secondary schools in Qunfudah every year and the university college, which operates in a rented building, will not be able to accommodate them all," said Ali Saeed Al-Faqeeh, a resident of the city, while speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette.
Many Qunfudah students presently seek admission in colleges and universities in different parts of the Kingdom. "We have been demanding a university for the last 30 years,”Al-Faqeeh said.
He said the history of formal education in Qunfudah goes back to 1930 when the first primary school opened in the city. Currently there are about 600 schools, including 110 secondary schools, in the governorate.
"The governorate needs an independent university to accommodate students who study medicine, engineering, health science and computer technology in various colleges under Umm Al-Qura University," Al-Faqeeh added.
More than 25,000 students have been enrolled in these colleges in Qunfudah, Al-Faqeeh said.
He said these colleges need to be upgraded for the convenience of students who want to pursue master's and doctoral programs.
"Most of these colleges run in rented buildings, which do not provide students with a suitable learning atmosphere," he explained. Buildings for the faculties of medicine and computer science are temporary and do not meet the requirements of students.
Al-Faqeeh hoped that a new university campus project would include a good library that would not only meet the needs of students but also all knowledge seekers in the region. "It will also create a better academic atmosphere," he added.
The university college in Qunfudah accommodates a large number of students. "In a single class you can see 130 students while in some other classes up to 250 students," he said, adding that establishment of an independent university campus was the only solution for all these problems.
Omar Al-Rahmani said people of Qunfudah have been dreaming of a university for several years. "We hope that it would end the suffering of our students who have to commute hundreds of kilometers every day to reach their colleges and back home," he said.
Ahmed Al-Salami said the governorate has already set aside land for building the proposed university campus north of the city. "We hope the Education Ministry would speed up implementation of the project," he said while stressing the importance of the project to reduce the suffering of students who travel to Jeddah, Makkah, Abha and Jazan for higher education.
