Rural School Decides to Make Own Rules

MAKKAH, 13 October 2006 — An inspector for the Education Ministry traveled to a distant village about 160 kilometers from Makkah to check on the school there, the Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday. When he arrived there at 10 a.m. on a school day he discovered the building was empty and locked. Upon further investigation, the inspector discovered that the teachers of the school took it upon themselves to decide to close for the entire month of Ramadan. Official public school holidays didn’t begin until Oct. 12. The inspector filed a report with the ministry over the incident — which surely made the teachers of this rural school terribly afraid of the repercussions of their decision.