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The Shoura Council. (SPA)

Two Shoura Council members have criticized the Kingdom’s higher education system, saying it requires a major overhaul to meet the country’s development requirements.

They also called for bringing technical and vocational training institutes under the Ministry of Higher Education to make them more effective. “Our educational institutions are weak and unsystematic,” said Sultan Al-Sultan, a member of the consultative body, during a session on Tuesday.

He said the Technical and Vocation Training Corporation has proved its failure to bring foreign companies to review the quality of its programs. He said the Higher Education Council was not doing enough to improve the country’s educational level.

Nasser bin Dawood, another member, accused private providers of vocational and technical training services as “sellers of illusion.” He said fake degree holders should not be allowed to conduct training courses.

About 100,000 trainees graduate from private institutes, paying SR100 million.

Khaled Al-Saud, chairman of the education committee, said the Shoura Council does not agree with Al-Sultan’s comments criticizing the Higher Education Council, adding that the HEC has taken steps to tackle the issue of fake certificates.

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