MASSIFICATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SAUDI ARABIA IN THE CONTEXT OF SAUDI VISION 2030: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

Abstract

This study explored the massification of Saudi higher education by utilizing contemporary Chinese higher education expansion as a framework to identify the drivers of expansion, challenges encountered, and diversification within the massification process. This study employed a qualitative approach of policy analysis of background literature, documents, and semi-structured interviews. Scholarly consensus regarding the aims of massification focus on the expansion of access, diversification of educational opportunities, meeting individuals’ aspirations, and demands for national development. Massification of Saudi higher education has been rapid yet has suffered from lagging policy development. The Saudi Ministry of Education and public universities were found to devise measures and regulations that challenge the principles of meritocracy and equitable access in terms of family background, regional disparities, and gender. Other issues associated with the expansion of higher education were found to be a decline and lower levels of quality, insufficient financial resources, and limitations in the diversification of types of institutions. These trends increased access for some populations, while also contributing to inequality of educational opportunity. To address the multifaceted issues associated with massification and to invest in the higher education sector the means to realize its role in attaining the ambitious goals of Vision 2030, reforms in higher education suggested by this study are imperative.