Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

King Abdullah pays tribute to late kings by naming educational institutions after them. | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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King Abdullah and the late King Fahd


King Abdullah and the late King Fahd

King Abdullah and the late King Fahd

Riyadh, Asharq Al-awsat- In the Aseer region of southern Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Education, Khaled al-Anqary during his speech to a large number of residents, declared the establishment of the first university in southern Saudi Arabia. His speech however, was interrupted by King Abdullah who announced that the name of the establishment would no longer be University of Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz as originally planned, but rather ”University of King Khaled bin Abdulaziz”.

After agreeing to establish this university, the King refused to allow it to be named after himself and requested that it carry the name of his late brother, King Khaled bin Abdulaziz. King Abdullah stated that, &#34we all owe Khaled bin Abdulaziz a great deal, and from this moment, the university shall be named after him.&#34

One of the professors of King Khaled University said that he would never forget such a noble initiative set by King Abdullah. The professor was present during the occasion and said that the king”s announcement regarding the change in the name of the university had a deep impact on him. He said that the initiative was welcomed on both an official and popular level within the Aseer region.

He further added, &#34We eagerly awaited the establishment of this university until Prince Khaled Al-Faisal proposed merging the two branches of King Saud University and Al-Imam University to be named Prince Abdullah University. The approval was granted by the then Crown Prince until he visited Aseer himself and decided to change the name, a decision of which we were all very proud.&#34

In the same context, the health department of the National Guard suggested changing the Prince Abdullah Academy for Hygienic Sciences to a university that carries Prince Abdullah’s name, especially after the faculty of medicine was established last March to become a university. However, King Abdullah substituted his name and proposed that the University for Hygienic Sciences be honored to carry the name of King Saud.

Similarly, last year, during the celebration held by the Ministry of Education in which many officials were present, King Abdullah decided to name the first university for girls in Saudi Arabia ”Riyadh University”, rather than attributing his own name to it. The king also declared the establishment of the first university for girls in Saudi Arabia by assembling all faculties under one large establishment.