Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — A number of girls school owners in the Kingdom have asked a legal office to make a comprehensive study on the decision to subsidize salaries of Saudi female teachers by the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf). The school owners asked the legal office to communicate its findings to the concerned authorities when the study is completed. The proprietors said about 75 percent of the girls schools may have to close down when the fund's support is halted after two years. “Only about 5 or 10 percent of the school will be able to continue because their fees are high,” a school owner said. She did not want to be identified. Under a government decision, the monthly wage of the Saudi male and female teachers at private schools was raised to SR5,000 plus a transport allowance of SR600. The fund will pay SR3,000 toward the salary of each teacher for two years after which the schools will be on their own. Female teachers have asked that the fund continue paying the difference in their salaries beyond the two-year target, otherwise the schools may be obliged to close down because they will not be able to pay the added amount to every female teacher. School owners said that in addition to the high salaries, they also have issues with the municipalities, which force certain conditions on them, and with the Civil Defense that makes compliance with all safety standards mandatory. Awad Al-Qahtani, the lawyer who will present the complaint to the concerned authorities on behalf of the school owners, said implementing the decision to stop government subsidies beyond two years should be reconsidered, especially since a number of schools would not be able to pay the higher salaries on their own. He expected that between 50 and 75 percent of the private girls schools in the Kingdom might close down as a result of the decision. The lawyer said thousands of women teachers will then be jobless and the labor market will not be able to absorb them. “The public schools will not be able to serve the thousands of students who will lose their education opportunities when these private schools are closed,” he said. The lawyer said the school owners assigned him to convey their apprehension to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah after the comprehensive study was completed. “The threats of penal action made by the Ministry of Education have no legal support,” he said.
