Teacher training has become a matter of intense debate in Saudi Arabia. For some, the present system is perfectly fine. Others have no confidence in it at all. Their discontent is evident.
The system at present is a mixed one. The Ministry of Education accepts a variety of training methods and courses, including those provided by its own supervisors, courses laid on at its training centers and training provided at private centers. Workshops and in-house training on school premises undertaken by visiting experienced teachers is another method.
A large number of teachers of various specialties in both the private and state sectors, however, have complained about the heavy load that supplementary training adds to their already busy schedules. They criticized the lack of cooperation with those in charge and unsuitable timing. There have also been
allegations that some trainers are not up to standard. Teachers also complained about being asked to pay for materials and books needed for workshops.
One teacher who did not want to be named and who has been in the profession for several years said that they are told that training courses are not compulsory but if they don't attend them they will face problems with principal. "We have to pay SR15
for each piece of paperwork handed in. Also we have to pay SR50 to obtain the certificate at the end of the course," said the teacher, adding that the training course last for three days each for no more than 4 hours. In fact, paying for work done and certificates is standard in some industrialized countries.
A computer teacher complained about a number of trainers who lacked the necessary skills and accused them of being "rude and impatient." As to the some of
the supervisors sent by the ministry of education for teacher training she claimed that "they are not selected based on the skills they have or their characters. Everything is base purely on amount of years they worked”.
A librarian who has been teaching for 15 years said she finds the training courses "rarely useful". A particular complaint, she said, was the timing. Being a mother, she could not handle the work at school and then go for training for 4 hours: "We need to have a balance." She also said that training should not be in the middle of the semester when teachers are overwhelmed with exams and classes and suggested that courses to be laid on at the beginning of the semester when no classes are held. According to her, some supervisors were "not up to the standard" and "not qualified to be trainers."
There are some teachers who consider training as unnecessary; Fawsiya, a primary school teacher for 18 years, said that she had not attended any training
sessions either at her school or at training centers this year. "Training is only for weak teachers who need improvement," she said.
The issue of training is central to the proposed system of enforcing teaching licenses in the Kingdom. Ahmad Al Mufarih who made the proposal at the Shourah
Council a year and a half ago hopes the system will be approved this year and implemented immediately. He accused the present training system of being
"unorganized, undirected and ineffective". The new system, he said, would make training "organized and balanced."
The first point about it, he said, was that it would select only qualified individuals to go for teaching jobs. All teachers would be required to undergo tests for their knowledge and teaching skills. After the selection process, training would take place which he said would be compulsory and given only in specified, authorized centers.
When first proposed at the Shourah Council, the new system triggered considerable debate. Many teachers were opposed, although in Al-Mufarih’s view, their opposition was based on the fact that they did not know what it involved. "The system was unveiled at a time teachers were asking for their rights, thus they went against it." He also added that the system would show who is is motivated and has a vocation for teaching and those who are doing it just "as a job." What is needed at the end of the day, Al Maufarih said, is "good quality education."
Farida Farsi, who heads Al-Hamra private school of Jeddah said that they do not rely on the training offered by the ministry of education; they have their own training scheme both for their own staff and for newly graduates who want to teach. "Training takes place at the beginning of the first semester and at the end of the second not to distract students." Trainers come from Canada, Jordan, USA and other countries. Asked whether such trainers would be useful given their unfamiliarity with the Saudi curriculum, Farsi said that the school discusses the
relevant skills with them that they want teachers to develop. She claims that such programs have proved to be 90-percent useful to teachers.
Samya al-Shatwi, who has supervised art training at the Ministry of Education for the past five years, said that in addition to standard teacher training programs they use experienced and talented teachers to present their skills to others. But it is not all free. "The teacher has to bring all they tools and materials they need for training," said Al-Shatwi. Teachers can also go to special art centers for workshops and courses to develop further skills at their own expense, she said.
Teachers in the public sector are given 20 days in-service training a year according to Fadia Al-Khadra, head of the Teachers Training Department of Jeddah at the Ministry of Education. Her department, set up 15 years ago but which has significantly increased its activities in the past four years, provides training for principals, supervisors and teachers in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, teaching strategies and the use of technology in the classroom.
Private sector teachers are also given "limited space at the training." The selection of private school teachers is based on decisions by supervisors sent out by the ministry of education and the principals of the schools involved. Although she says that training is much improved in Jeddah over the past four years, she acknowledges there are still some challenges in rural areas, largely due to a lack of equipment and trainers.
When asked about the complaints about training raised by teachers, Al-khadra said that such they used to be valid but that things had changed. People now understood the importance of training, she said: "Teachers are now interested in it."
Training for teaching staff in both the state and private sectors is provided by the Ministry of Education according to its supervisor of private sector education in Jeddah, Amal Ridwan. The training, she said, is for working teachers as well as for graduates seeking a teaching job. "Our aim is to fully Saudize the sector. It now has 86 percent Saudi teachers." Asked about teachers’ complaints about the system, she said that much as they attempt to help Saudi teachers improve and be successful, some were "always complaining."
Language can be an issue in training given that a significant proportion of useful material is in English. Faten Salih The CEO of Knowledge Latitude a training center that works with both the state and private schools said they first offered their courses in English but are now translating them into Arabic. Nonetheless, she did not believe that language had been “a barrier". The problem was not that teachers
lacked language or technical skills but that some were "not willing to teach or hate it." She said the issues that exist in the Kingdom are much the same elsewhere in the Middle East. It is unfair to hold teachers wholly responsible if students do not
develop a sense of curiosity or grow intellectually, she said. It is not all their fault.
Requests by Arab News for information from the ministry about teacher numbers in both the private and public sectors in the Kingdom elucidated no response; no one was available for comment. However, it is known that, last year, 200,000 Saudi teachers in the kingdom, both male and female, called for improvements to their working conditions. In 2007, 16,000 applicants for teaching posts had, for the first time, to sit an exam to verify their skills. They were also asked to provide medical reports to ensure their health and psychological well being.