On the surface, a low student-teacher ratio looks advantageous, but it may instead jeopardize the very existence of a school. Teachers at the remote Suman High School for Girls in the south of Taif found themselves on Tuesday with no classes to teach for the fourth day running since the start of the new school year, as all but six of their pupils failed to show up for class. The situation has led to threats of closure from the Department of Education in Taif, as the nine teachers have over the last four days been instead killing time by getting to know each better. Although it was closed down last year as pupil numbers failed to exceed four, the school was reopened this year with three new teachers. Located in another remote village of Taif, Showqab Girls' High School can boast an even higher teacher-to-pupil ratio, with 15 teachers to tend to the education of only four students. The dearth of students at these two remote village schools has been blamed on the mass migration of locals to the cities. In other parts of the region however, women teachers find themselves overloaded in terms of both classes and student numbers, and the disparities are forcing difficult decisions. A source at Taif Education Department said that decisions had been taken with the Ministry of Education to close down the two schools and have the teachers transferred.
