TAIF: Last week schoolgirls in Makkah rioted when their mobile phones, used to help them cheat during examinations, were confiscated.
The story echoes that of the 20-year-old Jubail student who was sentenced to 90 lashes last month for attacking her head teacher after they argued over the girl’s use of her phone.
There have been plenty of other reports of school violence, although none quite as serious as the recent incident of a student shooting a teacher in Abha.
In a society where teachers have limited social status it seems there is no solution on the horizon for the growing problem of school violence. In Taif school violence, according to teachers at local schools, is affecting the students’ education. It is normal to have fights and disagreements at that age, but the teachers say the level of violence has gone beyond what is considered normal and is now affecting both groups.
They also blame a lack of family supervision for the rise in school violence.
Abdullah Al-Qarni, a high school teacher in Taif, said that in the past teachers received respect, but that has now ebbed away.
He said not a week passes without hearing about a violent incident at one of Taif’s schools. He said students exposed to violent scenes on TV and video games are part of the reason. “It is scary to hear about group fights between students, especially high school students,” Al-Qarni added.
Al-Qarni claimed he, along with other teachers, has been threatened many times with violence, especially from students who fail in their classes.
“I remember one pupil who was doing poorly in class. When I told him to study to avoid failure, he threatened to attack me after school if he failed,” he said.
Al-Qarni added that three days after he reported the threat to the school principal, his car was vandalized while parked outside of the school.
Abdullah Al-Khammash, a high school principal in Taif, said families should take most of the blame for the problem.
“We are so busy talking about the problem, we have ignored a discussion on the solutions needed to end it.” He said that police are only forcing violent students to sign letters promising not to repeat their behavior, which has proven ineffective.
Arabic grammar teacher Abdul Muhsin Al-Rabeeie said violence between students is normal in high schools but it goes beyond acceptable when large numbers of people get involved.
“Sometimes, what starts as a problem between two students all of a sudden involves more than 20 children because of tribal disputes,” Al-Rabeeie said.
“In addition, families, instead of reducing the tension, are encouraging it. They even tell them to take matters into their own hands.”
Abdullah Eqab, school principal of a middle and high school, said a possible solution lies in creating a student reconciliation committee headed by students and also a student Shoura Council.
“We can easily eliminate tribalism and spread harmony and love among students. We should have school trips more often. This will work because the activities will take place outside of school time. I tried this in summer camps and found it useful because it is easy to discover talents as well as the students’ problems and then we can address them.”
In May last year, police stopped a fight between students belonging to two different tribes in a school in the town of Bujanoub, south of Taif. There was another “follow-up brawl” two weeks ago.
“There was a fight between two groups of student two weeks ago and recent violence is connected to that. The students damaged a number of cars parked in front of the school,” Maj. Turki Al-Shahri, Taif police spokesman, told Arab News.
Earlier also in May, a fight broke out between two groups of students at a school in Al-Muwayah, north of Taif. The fight started among students in a classroom with 20 others getting involved later. Many students were injured in the melee and were treated at Al-Muwayah Medical Center. Police were called in to end the fight and a number of students were taken in for questioning.
In July last year, a crowd of 40 students armed with stones broke the windows of Ashira Secondary School in the town of Turba, near Taif. The group also smashed cars parked at the school’s gates.
After the gang left two other groups sitting in two cars exchanged gunfire. Three police teams pursued them.
“The assault on the school, including the exchange of gunfire, was the culmination of a fight that same week. My brother suffered head injuries and was being treated at the Ashira Health Center in Turba,” said Muhammad Al-Maqati, whose brother is a student at the school.
