ALKHOBAR, 24 June 2004 — On Monday, drivers and janitorial staff were called upon to perform the duties of teachers in the boy’s section of the Pakistan International School. The regular teachers refused to supervise the examinations in protest against the school’s cost-cutting measures. The measures include a 35 percent salary cut in vacation pay, a freeze on increments and bonuses and a 50 percent tuition levy for teachers’ children attending the school. The teachers claim that they are bearing the brunt of the cost-cutting measures.

Some students took full advantage of their teachers’ absence and resorted to cheating. At the end of the day a large group of students gathered outside the school and raised slogans in support of their teachers. The Pakistan school in Alkhobar has over 3,000 students and about 73 teachers.

Babar Butt, the school principal of the boy’s section, played down the situation, denying most of the reported events. “No driver or janitorial staff were involved in invigilation duties. I myself performed them and so did the other teachers. The slogan-raising boys were outsiders and not our students.”

The cost-cutting measures, which angered the teachers, were approved by a seven-member board of directors. These members are elected for a three-year term by the parents of the students attending the school.

Board Chairman Farhat Choudhary confirmed that drivers and janitorial staff were called upon to supervise the ongoing examinations.

“We had no choice,” he said. “The teachers refused to enter the classrooms and discharge their duties.”

Speaking about the board’s decision to enforce cost-cutting measures, Choudhary said: “They are necessary steps. The school has been running an annual deficit of about SR400,000 to SR500,000 for the past several years.”

Choudhary said he was disappointed with the teachers’ decision to boycott the classes. “This is against Saudi law. The teachers should have carried on with their duties. If they were upset they could have come to us later and we could have discussed the matter and resolved it amicably. Instead they took matters into their own hands and even complained to the Ministry of Education which only told them to return to their classes.”

Choudhary added that he was very hopeful that the board and the teachers would come to some sort of a mutual settlement before the school closed for the summer holidays at the end of June.

The teachers said they had decided not to complete the report card, which is due on June 28, as further protest. Teachers from both boys and girls section voiced their frustrations over the pay cuts.

“Just when we were going on vacation and needed money the most, we received this dreadful news,” said one teacher. Another teacher remarked that the school had financial problems because of mismanagement.

“Instead of putting in split level airconditioners and buying Previa cars, the school should be more stringent and cut its own costs instead of the teacher’s salaries, which are quite meager to begin with.”

Explaining why the teachers had walked out on their duties, one said: “How can we work with so much tension? There is no spokesperson to represent the teachers. If the teachers speak out strongly, they are given a warning and their jobs are threatened.”