A Saudi banking source has estimated that the value of bank guarantees issued by the local banks to students wishing to study abroad during this academic year totals $150 million. This estimate, appearing in Al-Hayat daily, includes guarantees for academic institutions throughout the world, and ranges from $3,000 to $20,000 per student.
The trend of enrolling in higher education institutions outside of Saudi Arabia can be attributed in part to the remarkable increase of secondary school graduates during recent years. As a result, the local universities and academic institutions are unable to absorb more than 60 percent of the local secondary school graduates.
The number of male secondary school graduates amounts to 111,000 this year, while the number of females exceeds this figure by 30 percent. –(Albawaba-MEBG)
