A delegation from King Faisal University (KFU) in Al-Ahsa visited the Zamil Higher Institute for Industrial Training (ZHIIT) in Dammam recently to evaluate the performance of the institute. Dr. Mohamed A. Sharif, ZHIIT director, took the delegates on a tour of the institute's workshops, laboratories and other facilities. The picture shows the delegation led by Dr. Yousuf bin Mohammed Al-Jandan, KFU President, with a group of Zamil Industrial management personnel. — Courtesy photo Ahmed Al-Selmi Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The Ministry of Education has said action will be taken against a female official at the Girls' Education Bureau in Jeddah for allegedly spreading rumors that the ministry would expel girls enrolled in the first year of elementary school if they were under six. The ministry made it clear that it never made such announcements with regard to the enrollment of students in elementary schools. The woman accused of spreading the rumors is in charge of admissions at the Jeddah bureau and is believed to have told the parents of pupils already enrolled in the first year that she had received a circular from the ministry saying it would expel girls who were underage. She allegedly said the ministry had reneged on a decision to allow children who were no more than three months away from their sixth birthday to enroll in elementary education. The woman allegedly said children who were banned from enrolling in government schools would have to join private schools until they turned six. Muhammad Al-Dakhani, spokesman of the Ministry of Education, denied the ministry had sent such a circular. He also made it clear that children approaching their sixth birthday were still allowed to enroll according to the exemptions approved by the ministry. He said the ministry would work with the Education Administration in Jeddah to assure parents that its original decisions stood and the information given by the woman official was wrong. Meanwhile, Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, Director of Education in Jeddah, denied that his office had issued a circular contradicting the ministry's admission rules. He said: “I have never made any statement verbally or in writing claiming the ministry had gone back on its decision to exempt pupils of a certain age from enrolling at government-run elementary schools.” School officials in Jeddah have already told parents to obtain consent letters from the Girls Education Bureau to confirm their daughters' acceptance.
