Article 2 of the Saudi Law of Universities

This article sets the general purpose of the Law of Universities, a purpose that helps in understanding and interpreting its other provisions.

The Law aims at two things:

• Organizing higher education affairs: that is, setting the framework within which universities work, in terms of their establishment, management, councils and finances.
• Strengthening the standing of higher education in three respects:
  • the scientific side.
  • the research side.
  • the community side.

This strengthening takes place at three levels: local, regional and international.

Note that the aim is not limited to education in the traditional sense, but includes scientific research and service to the community, and that the ambition goes beyond local borders to competing regionally and internationally.

The article does not create direct rights or obligations for students or faculty members, but clarifies the general spirit in which the rest of the Law's articles are read.

Article 1 relates to it, as it defines the bodies that undertake achieving these aims, such as the Council of University Affairs, competent to organize universities' affairs and draw up their policies, and the Board of Trustees, competent for governance and oversight. Article 3 also relates to it, as it describes the university as a public academic institution with a legal personality that is financially and administratively independent, contributing to implementing the State's educational policy, and not aiming at profit.