AAFAQ - A Future Plan for University Education in the Kingdom

The Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia dedicates supreme attention towards the development of the higher education system. The ministry launched an initiative to prepare a modern and ambitious longterm plan for university education, so the country will be able to fulfill the challenges of a sustainable firstclass academic development process. Among these challenges are academic excellence, high population growth rate, global influence on education principles, ever-increasing funding demands, labor market needs for highly qualified graduates and faculty, etc. This plan aspires to upgrade various effective components of higher education processes to tackle these impediments.

The Ministry has designated the Research Institute at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals “KFUPM” to present a detailed study for the preparation of a futuristic and effective plan to achieve a first-class higher education system. The plan includes an analytical review of the current conditions and operations; and explores the practical development horizon for Saudi higher education establishments to satisfy their strategic objectives. The achievement of all of that shall be realized within a modern perspective, and at the same time heavily relying on Islamic values and Arabic cultural heritage.

In response to this honorary assignment by the Ministry, KFUPM formed a highly competent team of its experts who in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education established the guidelines that will govern the coordination and management of the project that has been named “Aafaq”.

Introduction

The project will make available the necessary data and information required to prepare a long-term effective and efficient plan for the higher education system that will satisfy the coming twenty-five years. It shall also advocate pivotal criteria for producing progressive five-year plans.

The approach implemented to execute this vital project includes two essential outlooks that are theoretical analyses and technical studies.

A set of the studies that will be conducted under the umbrella of Aafaq deals with the so-called Track studies. The tracks include a variety of issues that will relate and affect the higher education system. Other studies focus on the technical and critical concerns of the system that include education sectors, styles and technologies. An important segment of the plan shall be concerned with specialized issues such as faculty, students, and IT.

Objectives of the Project

The main objective of the Aafaq project is to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of the higher education system in Saudi Arabia, through the preparation of an ambitious, futuristic, practical, and long-term plan that identifies vision, value, standards for performance measurement, and resource requirements. It additionally aims to improve adequate utilization of human and financial resources; and encouraging universities to allocate more resources for R&D and community service. The project is geared to produce a detailed implementation plan for higher education for the first 5 years and proposes a mechanism for institutions of higher education for continued strategic planning and implementation of strategic and operational plans.

Executing the Project

The execution of Aafaq relies on effective contributions from all higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. KFUPM project team will, in essence, be acting as an organizing body that coordinates the various studies that are produced within the scope of the plan interests. Study subjects, technicalities, consultancies, deliverables, finances, and time frames are all items of concern that will be addressed by this team.

The plan is of critical importance for the process of developing the Saudi higher education system, and the promotion of its product and includes the effectiveness that would influence the society and the fundamentals of its continued development. In synthesis, it is a national plan that in the first place basically involves all community industrial, social, educational, and economical sectors. In accordance, KFUPM is committed to execute the project with the highest possible role to be played by the widest scale of both government and private organizations and establishments, and the community at large.

Invitations are forwarded to higher education organizations, consulting houses, institutes, etc. to submit proposals and bids for undertaking the specified tracks and special studies. Successful organizations will later be represented in the project management team by participating in the Coordination Committee. That will serve for better communication and follow-up.

Furthermore, the management of the project will hold workshops, seminars and training sessions in major cities of the kingdom to put forward relevant topics of the plan for open discussion by different groups of the society. The Committee will serve as a tool for better communication and follow-up action.