The recruitment of foreign teachers may be delayed in some of the Kingdom's private schools due to impediments imposed upon them. Rasheed Al-Hassan, Chairman of Private Education at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province, has said that slow procedures at the Recruitment Office, including visa delays and the reduction in the number of visas made available by the Ministry of Labor, have made it difficult for school managers to recruit sufficient numbers of staff. Al-Hassan described the situation as “embarrassing” as there will be a drastic shortfall in teacher numbers despite support from the Ministry of Education for the recruitment of foreign teachers to meet the needs of private schools. The Ministry of Education, he said, supports private schools in employing foreign teachers, “but the procedures of recruitment offices hinder the efforts of authorities in private schools to hire foreign teachers.” Meanwhile, a source at the Ministry of Education has suggested increasing aid to private schools in order to employ Saudi nationals. Saudi teachers in private schools are estimated to constitute only 26 percent of the total. – Okaz __
