The MOH Assistant Undersecretary for Manpower Preparation and Development Dr. Khalid Al-Rashud said health faculties and institutes occasionally participate in health expos for reflecting the importance of the types of technical education they offer. He attributed the relatively small numbers of students enrolled to them to the lack of knowledge among the community. "The society looks to specialties such as nursing and midwifery as being lower in grade", he said during an expo organized by the General Directorate of Health Institutes and Faculties, within the activities of the Sixth GCC Conference on Primary Health Care.
Attributing the shortage in female technical specialists to the social perspective towards nursing, he stressed the importance of the role of media in enlightening the community. "When the Department of Midwifery was opened in the Health Faculty for Girls in Riyadh only 10 students applied|", he said "But following a meeting between the faculty dean and the students the figure rose to 35".