Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Several parents have shown their displeasure over the fact that many teachers played truant on the first day of the school after the spring break when many of the teachers were absent. A source from the Ministry of Education said the ministry had asked students and teachers to show up in the school on the first day to cultivate a sense of punctuality and start the second half of the semester productively . "The ministry has set a new regulation prohibiting children from entering the final exams if they exceed a fixed number of days in absence. School principals and education directors have sent reminders on social media urging the parents to make sure their children attend from the first day after the break," said the source. The source said overall, 90 percent of the students attended on the first day after the spring break and the rate of absence was below 10 percent. "The effort put into encouraging and urging the parents to send their children to school from the first day after the break bore fruit in many governorates, but not all. Riyadh saw a high rate of attendance by students and teachers alike. However, other areas of the Kingdom had a different attendance rate between teachers and students," said the source. The source added parents were afraid their children would not be allowed to sit the final exam due to their absence, so they were very determined at sending thechildren to school on the first day after the break. "However, other provinces had a lower attendance rate. Al-Mubarakah School in Jazan had an attendance rate of 70 percent. The principal commented that lack of appropriate transportation is the main reason for the students' absence and it is out of the hands of the students," said the source. Al-Thunayah Education Director Saleh Al-Qarni said the schools in Bisha Governorate in Asir Province had a high attendance rate, especially primary and middle schools. "There was a high rate of absence in the high schools of Bisha. Nevertheless, the rate of absence this year is much less than the rates of the previous years. However, many of the parents were angry to find out that in some provinces the teachers were absent and their children did not learn much on the first day," said the source. A parent said his child told him he only took two out of seven classes. "I was surprised to hear from my child that his teachers were absent. He only took two classes and the other classes were supervised by substitute teachers. The Ministry of Education made it clear that absence will not be tolerated. I find it embarrassing for the school when the students attend but the teachers do not," said the parent. The parent added that teachers should also be penalized for wasting the students' time and their parents' time.
