MAKKAH: The gunning down of a teacher at a school in Makkah last week was not the only case in which teachers have been subjected to violence and threats.
The teacher, who was in his 30s, was shot dead at a high school in Al-Zaher district on June 8. A man walked into the school asking for the teacher. When he saw the teacher, he shot him and seriously injured him. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
A clip, most probably from a cell phone, posted on the Internet shows footage of another teacher trapped inside a car surrounded by a mob of students. The teacher tries to talk to the students, but they ignore him. Other teachers try to interfere and calm students down; they are also attacked. Finally, as the teacher tries to escape, he is attacked and forced to take refuge inside the school.
In a high-profile incident in 2006, a group of students went on a rampage after performing poorly at midterm exams at a village high school, around 280 km from Yanbu. They attacked teachers and destroyed property.
After investigations, the Court of Grievances sentenced 10 people accused of involvement in the attack to two years in prison and fined SR20,000 each. Teachers at the school subsequently applied for transfers and called on the Ministry of Education to close it down.
Huwaida Khoja, a supervisor at the Guidance Department of the Girls’ Education Ministry in Makkah, said teachers are often subjected to violence. “Almost everyday we hear of teachers being attacked. When I was the principal of a middle school in Makkah, I too was attacked.” she said.
“One of the students was absent from school and we notified her mother that she was absent. The next day, and to my surprise, the mother stormed into my office and threw her shoe at me. Other teachers interfered to save me. When we asked why she was angry she said her daughter was at school and that we were trying to ruin her reputation by saying she was playing truant. When we confronted the student in front of her mother, she admitted she was absent,” she said.
Khoja said teachers have been left scared following the murder in Makkah. She added that this is compounded by an absence of armed guards at schools. She said a decision may be made to introduce armed security guards at schools.
Muneera Bakur, the principal of a girls’ school in Makkah, said she has been assaulted several times.
“A mother came to school to complain about a teacher. She accused the teacher of picking on her daughter and giving her low marks. When I told her that I would investigate the case, she took off her shoe and beat me. It did not end there, she stood outside my room and threatened to kill me and the teacher in question,” she said.
A woman teacher, who did not want her name published, said teaching is a dangerous job. “My mother insisted I become a teacher at an elementary school because it is safer there than in high schools or middle schools where students often attack teachers,” she said.
Fahd Ammar, a teacher in a Makkah high school, said one of his colleagues was stabbed by a student. “The teacher was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The attack has struck fear in my heart that I could be the next. I cannot predict what students could do tomorrow or the day after. The best thing is to avoid tension,” he said.
He said visitors without prior permission should be banned from schools. “School gates should be locked at all times to prevent people from entering without permission,” said Ammar.
Badr Al-Rugi, a Saudi lawyer, said there should be severe punishment to stamp out the problem.
“Students attacking teachers should be jailed and lashed. That would largely solve the problem. If the Education Ministry wants to introduce armed guards at schools, then a special committee comprising officials from the Education Ministry and the Interior Ministry should be formed to study the issue,” he said.
