State of schools ‘pathetic’

Many students, teachers and administrators have expressed their dissatisfaction over the lack of preparedness plaguing schools even after the start of the new academic year.
An official spokesman for the Ministry of Education, however, said that buildings are ready and fully functional and that they are ready to take in students and teachers. “There are only minor technical problems and not major issues as projected by the media,” he said.
“The Jeddah Directorate of Education has taken precautionary measures to ensure that schools are ready and functional. We have furnished classrooms and have ensured a sound learning environment way ahead of the arrival of students. This is an annual routine and we, in fact, see no reason why we are being attacked so strongly by the media,” he said.
Aishah Al-Balawi, a geography teacher at a preparatory school, said: “Every year, we hear the same old promises that schools are ready. Yet upon arrival, we see that nothing has changed. We also do not know why the schools are not ready, and we do not understand the lack of transparency on the part of the ministry.”
Another female teacher, who did not want to be identified, said: “We face the same problems every year. One problem is that schools take in more students than they can accommodate, not to mention the old decrepit classrooms and the air conditioners that are almost always out of order. It gets worse. Our superiors simply ignore our demands and complaints.”
Zainab Abd Al-Qadir, a grade 11 student, said: “We may be able to turn a blind eye to many things, but power failures, a lack of good housekeeping and the lack of interest in students’ public health is really annoying. You just can’t concentrate. Sometimes, you find 35 and even 40 students in one classroom and in some of these classrooms, the air conditioners are out of order. Because of this, we have to be crammed in with another class where there is a working air conditioner until the others are fixed. We had this problem last year and we are having it again this year.”
A number of activists posted comments on social media websites.
One said: “What’s new? Isn’t this what we have to go through every year?"
Another tweep said: “What’s the big deal? School principals rely on municipality workers for school cleaning and maintenance. They tell the ministry that all is fine.” “Should the minister of education stop schools and universities because they have dust on them?” said one Twitter user.