Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — A number of parents have criticized the Ministry of Education's Jeddah autism center for not having enough female teachers and nannies. They told Al-Madinah newspaper that the center does not have a regular transport system and does not provide adequate health care to the children. The newspaper said it has been following up the parents' complaints and dissatisfaction over the center's performance since the start of the academic year on Aug. 25. The mother of an autistic girl, who identified herself by her initials Q.M., said autistic children need special attention and care, particularly when it comes to eating, drinking or using the toilets. She complained against the shortage of female teachers and nannies in the center and said for this reason she was keen on being present with her daughter every day to take care of her personally. Um Al-Hanouf, another mother, said the center is much better than all private centers in the Kingdom, which she claimed were charging too much, but its big problem is that it does not give much attention to the children's health and does not have enough nannies. "This makes us worry very much about our children," she said. She said she had to be personally present in the center from the start of the school day until its end. "The center told us that the lack of nannies was due to the campaign by the Passport Department and the Labor Ministry against illegal workers," she said. Um Al-Hanouf refused to accept this logic and questioned how the only center in the region was not able to provide a sufficient number of nannies to take care of the children. "The absence of the nannies forced us to accompany our children and stay the whole day at the center because it is not the duty of the teachers to clean them or change their diapers," she said. M.K., a Saudi mother, said the shortage of nannies also happened last year and because of this her autistic son developed various skin diseases. Another mother who did not want her name to be published complained about the center's buses, which she claimed were old and had no air-conditioning during the hot summer days. "The buses are also not regular in their timings. They at times start work in the second semester and at other times work only for two weeks, after which they will stop completely," she said. Abdulaziz Al-Asiri, who has an autistic daughter, said many fathers have transferred their work to Jeddah just to be close to their children. "The center is really of a high quality but the shortage of nannies and female teachers is its main weakness," he said. He also complained that the center takes a long time to admit students. He said: “My daughter was accepted a year and a half after we applied for her admission. “Some people have to wait longer to get admitted.” Abdul Wahab Al-Ali, who also has an autistic daughter, said the only other option for parents is private schools that are very expensive. He said: “One of the private schools asked me to pay SR13,000 to admit my daughter. “How can I afford this large amount of money when I am just a low-income employee?” Director of the Department of Education in Jeddah Abdullah Al-Thaqafi described the center to be the best of its kind, not only in the Kingdom but in the entire Gulf region. He denied there was an acute shortage of female teachers but said some of them have asked to be transferred and others asked to be released. "I am personally trying to correct any problems with the center," he said.