JEDDAH: Despite warnings from the Ministry of Education, teachers sent to government schools far from family and friends are being conned out of thousands of riyals by scamsters promising them a guaranteed transfer back home which never occurs.
With a considerable number of teachers inevitably posted to remote and unfamiliar areas, the Ministry of Education regularly receives a large number of requests for relocation nearer home. To meet the demand, it announces a number of transfers every year. These now take place in two annual tranches — transfers between schools in different provinces and then transfers within the provinces.
However, with demand invariably outstripping availability, some teachers, homesick and desperate to move, turn to alternative offers of help from people claiming that they could fix things in return for cash. It is alleged that some are in fact officials at the ministry.
With the time for the transfers now approaching, the fraudsters are again busy promising teachers, especially female teachers, relocation to areas close to their families.
Some scamsters demand as much as SR30,000 from their victims for the service. Some culprits entice their clients by allowing them to pay the amount in installments. As a result many teachers lose huge amounts of their hard-earned money to fraudsters.
Nami Rafia, a teacher in the Eastern Province town of Naeeriya, said he had been trying to obtain a transfer to a school in the Western Region for several years.
“Some individuals promised me that they would arrange the transfer if I paid SR30,000,” he said. Rafia believed the individuals wanted to exploit him, especially since they knew he had an elderly father who needed his support.
“But I refused to pay the amount. I was sure I would get the transfer without resorting to such tactics,” he said.
Amal, another teacher, said a friend told her that she had got a transfer by paying an agent SR5,000. “I paid a SR2,500 deposit to the same agent and agreed to pay the rest when I saw my name on the transfer list. However, my name didn’t appear and the man wasn’t picking up his phone when I tried contacting him,” she said.
“I wanted to tell the police but my friend said I shouldn’t mention her name as it could affect her marriage. She then agreed to help me by paying half of what I paid the agent,” she added.
Fahd Al-Tayyash, a senior official at the ministry, said it had received many complaints of fraud. “Some people claim they have wasta at the ministry and ask teachers to give them cash,” he explained.
“The ministry is ready to do whatever it possibly can to meet teachers’ transfer requests, which are governed by certain rules and regulations. Teachers have the right to inquire about transfers,” he added.
According to a source at the ministry, transfers are granted according to a point system, and that teacher performance and attendance are also taken into consideration. “If the absence was due to a genuine reason then this would not affect the transfer,” he said.
