Thus far reform has largely meant putting putative reformers behind key desks in ministries and public bodies. So, in marked contrast to Saudi tradition and to the wider regional trend, the education ministry has become something of a reformist fiefdom, at least as far as the top jobs are concerned, making it an important focus of Abdullah patronage in the intra-Saud power play. Actual reform of educational practice, however, has not progressed beyond some curricula and course book changes, as well as the establishment of a controversial co-educational island of excellence, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) near Jeddah. KAUST, notably, is not under the authority of the higher education ministry, even though it is envisaged that it will eventually be subjected to formal state control. One area that is likely to get attention, whoever succeeds Abdullah, is technical training. Saudi Arabia cannot bridge the gap between population and economic growth without obliging Saudi nationals to work more, and for less, in the private sector.