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Saudi Arabia has set itself the goal of developing a knowledge-based society. Demographic changes and economic growth within short time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led to radical changes of the educational system. Higher education institutions are in expansion and international collaborations are being intensified. The policy of gender segregation based on a neopatriarchal society favored by the tribal system is an important cultural element of Saudi society and influences the Saudi educational culture.This article provides a scientific description and analyzes the main elements of the Saudi higher education system using the few data available due to the limited release of official statistics. Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University is analyzed as a case study based on the author’s experience who taught there as an academic years of 2006 and 2008. Being the first private institution to admit both male and female students it had to face several challenges. Furthermore, the impact of international collaborations is identified by exploring the «King Abdullah Scholarship Programme» which gives thousands of students the opportunity to study abroad.Education while having a global function also fulfills a national function. Therefore, collaborations with Western universities in the Kingdom have created challenges for the recent generations in balancing Western values imposed throughout their higher education with their traditional culture. Due to the policy of gender segregation, the Saudi educational system represents different obstructions and opportunities particularly for female students.

Observations and insight into Muslim and Gulf State Nations after years of serving as an onsite, teacher and consulting professor in education and Psychology are presented. The dramatic increase in literacy in Saudi Arabia and the problems associated with a country adjusting to this change are analyzed. The consequences of an illiterate, nomadic, tribal nation discovering colossal wealth and its influence on their traditions and economy are described. Unique insight into the struggle of newly-educated women to achieve greater freedom and opportunity in a culture known for its gender-based political ideology is offered. Gender barriers to university education and subsequent employment, and the tactics used to maintain them, are identified in some detail. The practical problems in teaching students from tribes in which truth and knowledge are secondary to desert survival through unchallenged leadership and loyalty are presented. The consequences of a government system in which there is no separation between State and religion are discussed. The importance of feminine values in a world where their absence could be devastating is explained in detail. The information contained herein can provide insight for countries changing from nomadic, tribal institutions to integrated, industrialized nations during the 21st Century.