Article 35 of the Saudi Civil Service Law

This article regulates two ways for an employee to complete his studies during his service:

• Scholarship: sending the employee to study outside the Kingdom.
• Dispatch: sending the employee to study inside the Kingdom.

The basic rule is that both are done according to the requirements of the public interest of the work. That is, the criterion governing scholarship and dispatch is the need and interest of the work, not the employee's wish alone. The text should not be understood as giving the employee an absolute right to a scholarship whenever he asks for one.

As for the details, such as the conditions, durations and procedures of scholarship and dispatch and the obligations of the employee on scholarship, the article does not state them, but provides that the Regulation sets the rules of scholarship and dispatch. Anyone who wants to know the conditions therefore needs to consult the relevant Regulation.

This article was amended; under Royal Decree No. (M/57) dated 24/5/1438 AH its text referred to "the Scholarship and Dispatch Regulations" to set the rules, conditions and procedures, while the text now in force refers to "the Regulation" to set the rules of scholarship and dispatch.

This article comes in the context of Article 34, which treats training as part of regular work duties, and Article 36, which deals with the regulation for measuring employee performance.

Anyone whose scholarship request has been refused, or who has a dispute over his obligations as a scholarship holder, may consult a lawyer specializing in administrative and civil service cases.