RIYADH, 4 October 2006 — Ramadan in Saudi Arabia is like no other. Even though the holy month should be an opportunity for righteousness and good deeds, over the decades, the Saudi lifestyle has transformed night into day and day into night.
People stay up all night shopping at malls that close at 2 a.m.; they go out or follow their favorite soap operas — especially made for Ramadan — on satellite television channels until it is time for sahoor.
Despite these changes, life goes on and people are expected to go to work and students are asked to go to school. The result? Teachers come to school with only a few hours of sleep at 9:30 a.m. and students are either absent or are half awake, not being able to concentrate or comprehend what is taught to them.
Ahmad Nasser, an intermediate principal, complains that many teachers in his school often go to the library or quiet rooms in order to sleep, away from prying eyes. “They only come to sign the time sheet in the morning,” he said, saying that he often finds teachers wrapping their shummaghs (the red headscarf) over the faces and lying down on the floor taking a nap. “This causes a great embarrassment for me when visitors or supervisors come to the school,” he added.
Nasser also said that during Ramadan, many students are reported absent from school. He said that a survey conducted by the student adviser revealed that 75 percent of the students in the school slept after dawn prayers during Ramadan. The remaining 25 percent slept at approximately 2 a.m., the survey revealed.
Nasser said that despite all his efforts, the problem has still not been resolved since it requires the change of a person’s sleeping hours during Ramadan.
One of the results of lack of sleep in Ramadan is poor performance by teachers in addition to the inability of students to comprehend.
“When a teacher comes to class and realizes that half of his students are sleepy, he is discouraged,” said Ahmad Al-Youssef, a local teacher. He added that more than a quarter of the class period is used by him asking students to go wash their faces or wake up and pay attention.
Another teacher said that teaching in Ramadan was tough, saying that he spends more than four hours a day talking almost non-stop without being able to drink a sip of water.
With the problems of poor performance during Ramadan from teachers’ lack of sleep, in addition to students’ inability to concentrate, many people are suggesting that school hours during Ramadan start earlier.
“I suggest that the authorities seriously consider shifting schools to the regular hours of starting at 7 a.m. during Ramadan,” said Luay, a high school teacher in Makkah. “Thus, if all schools in the country start at 7 a.m., families would be forced to make their children sleep earlier instead of allowing them to stay up until dawn.”
