Minister of Education Prince Faisal bin Abdullah has ordered all school administrations in the Kingdom to remove any obstacle in the way of normal academic activities, Al-Watan daily reported on Friday.   As a measure to guarantee that all teachers report to work on the first day of the term the educational authorities in the Asir province decided to cut two days’ salary of teachers who do not report for duty on the first day. Students will also receive demerits for not attending opening day.

The order applies to all Saudi government schools as well as other private schools. Some international schools, however, did not have a spring break. The semester will continue for Saudi schools until June 30, which marks the beginning of the summer break.

In related news, the Ministry of Finance is currently looking into the issue of disparities in salaries and benefits among teachers with the same qualifications. The aggrieved teachers have complained that some teachers get better salaries than others.