ABHA, 4 October 2006 — The Education Ministry accused Adel Asiri, a teacher in this southern Saudi city, of forging his personal information when he applied for a position at the Civil Service Ministry three years ago.

Asiri has denied forging any documents. He said officials at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University mistakenly entered the data and he had nothing to do with it.

Asiri claims that he was given a bachelor’s degree in social science with a GPA of 2.88. He said that after six years of unemployment he was offered a teaching job in Wadi Al-Dawasir.

“A few months after they hired me, the branch of the Ministry of Civil Services in Abha demanded the original university certificate,” he said. “I lost the certificate along with other important documents on my way between Abha and Jeddah where I was robbed.”

Asiri said when he applied for a duplicate the university officials issued a transcript with lower marks than the original. This alleged mistake, he says, turned his life upside down.

The general manager of employment affairs at the Education Ministry at that time, Muhammad Al-Otaibi, issued an order canceling Asiri’s appointment, accusing him of forging documentation that he originally submitted.

Asiri claims that according to Article 35 of the civil services law, he is entitled to an investigation before being sacked.

A ministry source who did not want to be named said no investigation will take place because the rules specifically state that anyone submitting false information will be rejected for employment.

Investigations, he pointed out, are mandatory only in the case of government employees, and Asiri had not technically been hired as a public servant at the time the discrepancy was discovered.

“What power does the general manager of employment affairs at the Education Ministry have to fire me without launching any investigation first to hear my side of the story?” Asiri said.

An official source from the Education Ministry said that the decision to cancel Asiri’s appointment would not have been taken without a recommendation from the Ministry of Civil Services.