TAIF, 17 September 2007 — Faced with an acute shortage of teachers, a desperate elementary school principal recently appointed a 6-year-old student to lead a Qur’an recitation class, Okaz daily reported yesterday. And now the Ministry of Education is investigating the principal’s actions after receiving complaints from several parents. The principal repeatedly stressed to school authorities the situation in her understaffed school and on each occasion, she was promised that help was coming soon. Realizing that there was no solution in the near future, she took matters into her own hands and found a 6-year-old girl as a temporary solution to her problem. The young girl was told to teach the class and listen to other students as they recited verses from the Qur’an. Excited students went home and told their parents about their classmate turned teacher. The parents who were not impressed with the young girl’s credentials, complained to authorities.
