If you want evidence that KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is a paradigm-shifter, you need look no further than the pages of the Saudi papers.

Letters have been flying in about how KAUST could serve as a model for other educational institutions in the Kingdom. Some see that as a good thing, others as unmitigated evil. So far, I’ve yet to see much in terms of neutrality.

A writer for Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, whose piece is translated by Arab News, says that it doesn’t matter whether KAUST is a great or poor example. He sardonically points out that the Saudi school system, including its universities, is so hidebound and tied up in red tape, that no model of anything could every change it!

Fear of change
Hashim Abdou Hashim | Al-Riyadh

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal recently asked in an article whether our universities would be liaising with King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST). He also asked whether our universities would try copying the new university’s scientific, research, managerial and technical abilities, and whether they would try introducing them in their classrooms and to their staff and administrators. I would also like to add to this list their students.

I will volunteer to answer the prince’s question by saying what he asks for is, if not impossible, unexpected. My justifications include the administrative problems Saudi universities experience despite the efforts and initiatives of some university heads. Instead of lighting the road ahead for us, these universities have become part of obsolete administrative systems and victims of bureaucracy and their complexities. There is, therefore, no difference between a university and a secondary school or government department.

A university should be able to conduct scientific research, and be independent in its decisions, regulations, plans, programs and budgets. Even the most successful of our universities depend largely on the clout of their heads and the initiatives of their staff.

Thanks to the administrative structure governing them and the traditional managerial structures that have paralyzed their scientific and creative abilities, our higher education institutions lack an understanding of the basic elements that make up successful scientific and research institutions.
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