KHOBAR – Some 38 kindergarten teachers at the Royal Commission in Jubail have filed a complaint with the Eastern Province's Emir's Office and the National Commission for Human Rights against their dismissal. The teachers have alleged that the Commission's Kindergartens Council administration arbitrarily sacked them without advanced notice. Some of the teachers have put in more than 25 years of service. A teacher, named only as H.G., said she was shocked at the sacking. “The council has arbitrarily decided to sack teachers with a high school degree and retain those who are graduates with specialization in kindergarten teaching. And they are mostly foreigners,” she said. After 14 years of service, she said, she never expected this to happen to her and several other colleagues. “During these 14 years, my colleagues and I have contributed greatly in completely transforming the 14 kindergartens. And this is what we get,” she said. Another teacher, H.H, served in the kindergartens for 25 years. She said she was laid off suddenly without a warning. “The pretext was development and innovation, despite all the efforts we had exerted, providing children with programs and information that contributed to developing their mental capabilities.” Other teachers, Sajda Al-Dulaijan, Hanan Al-Turki, Azzah Al-Ghamdi and Hikmah Al-Shammari, demanded the chief of the Royal Commission to intervene and reinstate them. Meanwhile, Jomah Bin Abdullah Al-Dosari, Director of the National Commission for Human Rights in Eastern Province, said the commission is following up the teachers' situation and would only intervene after investigations by the concerned authorities are completed.
