Topic: Expat Teachers getting the axe in Saudi

[Uncle Che]

I found this article on my feedreader that may be of interest to some of the readers here:

Ministry Decides to Ax Expat Teachers in Elementary Schools
Maha Akeel, Arab News
 

JEDDAH, 3 July 2006 — The Ministry of Education has decided against renewing the contracts of all foreigners teaching in elementary schools for boys, according to a source at the ministry.

The decision was taken with the aim of employing more Saudis from the next school year. While Saudi university graduates, especially English teachers, have welcomed the move, expatriate teachers were surprised and upset.

The source said that the contracts of all expatriate teachers at elementary level would not be renewed. As for intermediate and high school levels, contracts would not be renewed with the exception of math teachers and reading teachers, due to a shortage of teachers in these subjects. Also, teachers that have been in service for more than 20 years will not have their contracts renewed.

A Pakistani teacher contacted Arab News complaining that he was among those teachers whose contracts had been ended. The teacher had come to the Kingdom four years ago to teach English at the intermediate level, but two years ago he was transferred to the elementary level when English was introduced at the sixth grade.

The teacher approached the ministry last week hoping to be transferred back to intermediate level since that was his initial contract post. The teacher was unaware and was not told that even at intermediate and high school levels the contracts for English teachers would not be renewed.

According to him, an employee at the teachers’ affairs department told him that there are over 2,000 Saudi English teachers that need to be employed and therefore he has no right to question the ministry’s decision.

All expatriate teachers nevertheless have been offered assistance by the ministry in transferring their iqamas to private schools once they find employment.

The source said expatriate English teachers who were hired a few years ago were actually meant to teach at the elementary level but the final decision to introduce the language at that level had been delayed. As for hiring the teachers for intermediate and high school levels where there might still be a shortage, he said they have strict orders to employ only Saudis.

[Rumpole]

There are very few, if any, Westerners employed in the Saudi government school system.  Saudi schools at all levels are required by law to be segregated by sex, and the vast majority of teachers in the boys schools come from the poorer Arab/Muslim states such as Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and the Sudan. This ruling will therefore affect hardly any non-Arab teachers. 

As to employing only Saudis, they have tried this from time to time in other fields, with spectacularly unsuccesful results.  Basically, any Saudi male who can speak English well enough to teach it, will have for more lucrative opportunities in the petroleum and commercial sectors. Teaching is not 'glamorous' enough and far toooooo much like hard work for a Saudi man to want to sully his hands with it. They have about as much chance of employing 2000 Saudi English teachers as they have of hiring 2000 Saudi cleaners!  Of course, this will only dawn on them after they have fired all the TCNs and then realize there is no one to teach the classes.