Abid Khazandar Al-Riyadh The recent campaign against those violating iqama rules has unearthed about 2,000 female teachers illegally working in private schools. Most of the teachers were found not under the sponsorship of the schools and under the sponsorship of their husbands. The Ministry of Education has banned recruiting female teachers from outside. The Ministry of Labor has stopped issuing work visas for teachers and other female school employees. The Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) is complimenting the monthly salaries of Saudi women teachers on the books in the private schools to reach the level of SR5000. It seems there is a mass deception. In other words the private schools receive the Hadaf support but do not employ Saudi women teachers. Instead they are employing foreign female teachers at monthly salaries of as less as SR1200! Newspapers reported that about 80 percent of international schools closed down their doors anticipating the inspection campaign since most of their female teachers were illegal. About 320 out of a total of 400 international schools all over the Kingdom closed their doors because they were scared of the combined crackdown campaign being carried out by the Labor Ministry and personnel from the Passports Department. I do not know if we have this number of the international schools or that the newspaper meant the private schools. Whatever the case may be, these schools are private and are receiving support from Hadaf. They are clearly deceiving Hadaf by the taking subsidies meant for employing Saudi female teachers to appoint foreign women teachers. They are guilty of stealing from the government.
