JEDDAH, 1 February 2005 — A number of teachers in Jeddah have demanded proper insurance for them and their families even if they have to pay extra premium for it. They claim that private hospitals and clinics are becoming centers of exploitation and they have been exhausting money from their pockets. Insurance cover is the only solution to stop this exploitation.
Speaking to Al-Madinah newspaper, some of the teachers said that the Ministry of Health could not accommodate the huge number of teachers in government hospitals and clinics. Some teachers are going to private hospitals and paying from their own pockets, which is a huge financial burden on most of them. Their demand is to find proper insurance cover to get treatment in private hospitals similar to other government departments like the National Guard and Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Waleed Numnuqani, principal of a high school in Jeddah, said that insurance is a fundamental demand by many teachers.
“Health insurance is an important demand because it is very expensive to get treatment at private hospitals. I still do not know why the insurance system is not extended to the education sector. With the insurance cover, teachers will have a variety of choices on where to get treatment. The least we can have is a special hospital for teachers only similar to the military sector,” he said.
Abdullah Al-Fifi, the head of a middle school in Jeddah, said, “Insurance is very important, especially for teachers with families. The cost of getting proper treatment in a private hospital is financially harming many teachers with families. We cannot visit government hospitals because the treatment over there is not as good as that in private hospitals. Either we get insurance cover or at least we get a special hospital for teachers and their families, which is a fair demand compared to the treatment other government sectors are getting.”
Abdul Muhsin Al-Thubaiti, principal at Palestine High School in Jeddah, said, “The situation of teachers is becoming very bad. When we visit private hospitals, they think that we are making a lot of money and they charge us high. If we show the teacher card, we do not get any discount and we are ignored.
“The Ministry of Education should work with the Ministry of Health to provide us with a special hospital for teachers, even if that means that we pay fees for it. If such a hospital is provided, then we would not face any problems. Many teachers are feeling frustrated because they do not have insurance, housing or any other privileges.”
