“After two years of study during which we learned English, we applied for jobs as English teachers with the Ministry of Education. The ministry, however, surprised us all by saying that our diploma was not acceptable and that we needed a BA in order to teach. Instead, the ministry decided to hire teachers from abroad to teach English to sixth grade Saudis.”
This is the sad tale of more than a thousand Saudi students who earned a diploma in teaching English from the Al-Faisal Academy which is supervised by Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. Each student paid SR25,000 and received a diploma approved by the Ministry of Civil Service. The students were happy upon graduating as they thought it would be easy to get a job with the Ministry of Education. The ministry, however, simply told them that their diplomas were worthless. We wonder if, in order to teach basic English to sixth-graders, it is necessary to have Harvard graduates who are qualified to teach the most advanced levels of English. Why is the ministry not utilizing these students who worked hard for their diplomas? Why are they being sent directly into the ranks of the unemployed?
Sixth graders could surely be taught basic English by these diploma-holders. I hope that the ministry has some kind of explanation for these one thousand students who do not know where to go and what to do with their diplomas. Nobody seems interested in this problem. The university is saying nothing; the academy accepted the students’ money and it is saying nothing; the Ministry of Civil Service approved the diploma and the Ministry of Education is busy hiring teachers from abroad. These students say that they will accept any salary but will not accept unemployment. The questions still remain: What are they going to do and who is going to solve their problem?
