Abdul Qader Al-Ghamdi, acting director of the office, said school officials have been asked to appear at the Labor Office to give their explanation on the matter.

“We will take appropriate administrative action after looking into all aspects of the issue,” he said. In their joint petition, the teachers accused the school management of sacking them arbitrarily and without issuing any proper notice, Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported.

Reacting to the issue, a school spokesperson said action was taken in accordance with management policy to extend the best possible academic services to the students.

“These teachers have failed to fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with this policy, and their performance was not up to the required level. In addition to this, some of them were found to be taking unauthorized leave,” the official said, adding that they would be replaced by suitable Saudi candidates.

Saleh Al-Hassawi, director of educational supervision at the education department in Rabigh, confirmed that the teachers approached his office with a joint petition.

“We have informed them that the department would appoint a committee to investigate the matter,” he said, adding that they had been served with a notice that says that they would be sacked at the end of their contract.

The teachers are still on the payroll of the school as their contract had not ended, he said.

In their complaint, the teachers alleged they had not been given any genuine or convincing reasons, adding they had actually been commended for their performance earlier.

Salman Al-Harbi, an Arabic language teacher, said the school, run by a non-Saudi, served him his notice without any genuine reasons despite his exemplary performance record.

Eid Al-Harbi, another Arabic teacher, said the management violated a provision in the labor contract that stipulated notice is served one month before dismissal.

On his part, Eisa Al-Haisouni said: “I was appointed as general supervisor at the school even though the majority of teachers are non-Saudis. I was sacked after receiving a first and last warning notice apparently because of a dispute with an official at the school,” he said.