MADINAH, 20 April 2004 — Ninety-four students have filed a complaint against a private academy with ties to Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University here.
According to a local press report, the students paid SR25,000 for a two-year program to qualify as elementary English teachers.
Students say they paid the money in the belief that the academy would find them jobs in primary education when they graduated.
They also say the academy told them the course was approved by the Ministry of Education. But halfway through the course the academy told them it was not, Al-Madinah newspaper said.
Students allege the academy knew all along the ministry did not recognize its diplomas but misled them to get its hands on their money, the paper said.
But Dhafer Al-Jafran, the academy’s public relations officer, told the paper the academy’s job was to provide an education for the students, not to find them jobs.
He said if students had proof that the academy promised them jobs, they should produce it.
He added any complaints ought to be filed with Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University, which approved the course.
“We explained our point of view to them many times, but they refused to listen or accept it,” he said.
