JEDDAH — Three weeks have passed since the beginning of the new school year and many students find themselves without text books at government and private schools. While parents have raised their objections, the Jeddah Education Directorate holds the schools responsible. A private school principal spoke of endless arguments with the caretakers of the warehouses of the Ministry of Education without any result, as the school has submitted a letter with the list of books received showing the deficits. But warehouse officials insisted that all books had been delivered. She added that parents are angry as their daughters are not being taught, and the school had to use the previous year's curricula, a local daily reported Government schools are experiencing similar problems, although request for books were submitted before the end of last year's school term. A parent of three girls said monthly exams are only ten days away, and the lack of text books will negatively affect the grades of students. The school principle, he added, told him that the problem lies with the ministry's warehouses, and the problem is widespread. Abdul Majeed Al-Ghamdi, from the Information Department at Jeddah Education Directorate, denied that the non-availability of text books is due to a shortage in the ministry's warehouses. He said books have been distributed to cover all of Jeddah schools. He added that throughout the Electronic Registering System, known as “Noor”, each school submits the number of students, and the need for text books. These requirements have all been met. The problem surfaced because of the transfer of students between schools or due to late registration of the students. But these cases are very less in number, he said. – SGt
