A college has pulled out of running a college in Saudi Arabia because it said it is owed £500,000 by the kingdom’s government.
Dudley College of Technology began its relationship with the Saudi government in 2011, providing leadership and management training for college leaders in the Middle Eastern country.
More recently, the college has delivered Capacity Building Contracts at Qatif Boys College in 2015 and in Hafr Al-Batin Girls College from September 2011 - which was due to end next year - on behalf of the Saudi government’s flagship Colleges of Excellence (CoE) programme.
The Saudi government launched the programme as part of a bid to help diversify its economy away from oil and also provide training to the country’s young population - half of whom are under the age of 25. Around half a dozen colleges signed up to run colleges in the kingdom, but some handed back their keys, including Nescot (North East Surrey College of Technology) in August 2017.
‘Very frustrating’
Dudley College chief executive Lowell Williams said the college “had no choice” but to terminate this contract.
He said: “Despite the invaluable support provided by the UK’s ambassador to the kingdom and the Department for International Trade, contractual payments remain in arrears to the value of £0.5 million. The position we find ourselves in is very frustrating. We believe we have been making a real difference to the lives of young women in the kingdom, by broadening their career choices and helping prepare them for the world of work.
“While we understand that governmental issues in Saudi might have contributed to delays in payments, unfortunately as a result CoE have breached their contract with us. On our part we have honoured our commitments under the contract in full. It would not be appropriate for the college to use UK public funds to sustain the cash flow of the CBC project in Hafr Al-Batin Girls College. By terminating the contract at this point in time we are ensuring this is not the case.”
Mr Williams said the work in Saudi Arabia has generated an income of just over £3 million, including a surplus of £500,000. If the college gets the money it is owed from the Saudi government it will have made £500,000; if it does not it will still have broken even.
