The headmistress of an intermediate school in Umm Al-Siba' District in Taif refused to give a girl her intermediate school certificate unless she paid SR100 for the purchase of paint to cover the graffiti the girl had allegedly written on the inside of the wall of the school. According to her father, the girl was beaten by a woman teacher several months ago and was prevented from going to classes for two days. After investigations were completed, the girl returned to school and was not accused of any further violations. On the contrary, she was honored with a certificate for ending the year in good standing among the distinctive students in the school. The girl's father added that when his daughter went to the school to get her school certificate and complete her papers so as to apply to secondary school, she was surprised by the headmistress' refusal to hand over the certificate unless she paid SR100 as a fine for graffiti it was claimed she written on the school wall. The headmistress claimed that the graffiti was written by several girls and that this girl was the ringleader. Salim Hilal Al-Zahrani, Director General of Girls' Education in Taif Governorate, said that no such a fine or fee exists and called upon the girl's father to go to the school to receive his daughter's results without paying any fine.
