
India's Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who currently on a visit to Riyadh, has declared that by the next academic year (2007) , an examination center for the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) will be opened in Saudi Arabia.
'The issue of equivalence of degrees will cease to be a problem very soon,' the visiting minister told the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys' Association (AMUOBA), which had organised a reception in his honour Wednesday.
The education of Indian expatriates' children is an important issue for the Indian government and it would take every step to ensure that they did not face any difficulty, Singh said, according to an official release issued here.
'The UPA government has ensured the minorities in India get what is legitimately due to them,' the minister said.
He said while several universities had offered him honorary doctorates, he declined them and chose to accept only the doctorate awarded by the AMU, which he values and cherishes most.
The reception was attended by Indian Ambassador in Saudi Arabia M.O.H. Farook, former MP Waseem Ahmed and AMUOBA president Syed Misbahul Arifin among others.
The minister is currently on a week-long visit to the Gulf countries to discuss collaborations in the field of education and meet the top leadership of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Source: IANS News