Parents worried about public school conditions

JEDDAH: Nearly two weeks after schools reopened, parents are voicing their concern at the condition of Saudi public schools.
“My son was forced to sit on a dusty chair at a dirty table because the school had not been cleaned before it opened,” Fouzia Ahmed, a Saudi mother of three, told Arab News. He has been sick with a fever and allergies ever since, she added.
Another parent said he was approached by his son’s teacher, who asked him to speak to the school principal about getting the air-conditioners cleaned.
“This teacher has tried repeatedly to have the principal approve the removal and cleaning of air-conditioners in his class, but has been ignored. He asked me to speak to him, saying I would have more impact getting something done,” Mazen Al-Sowaf said.
Some parents are frustrated with construction going on in the school while their children are at class.
“It is very difficult to get in and out of the school because of work being done on the floors and walls at the entrance,” Mohammed Al-Manakhah said.
“This work should be done during the summer holiday not during the school year when students are at risk,” he added.
Others are upset with the gaps in the registration system for children entering first grade.
Sawsan Sabban had to take several days off work to register her daughter. “When I went to the school to register her, I was told to do it online. The Ministry of Education’s website would not allow me to complete the registration because my daughter is six, not seven years old. I was told to go to the Ministry to ask permission and then to visit the female section of the Teacher’s Inspection Office to get further approval to find a place for her,” she said.
Sabban explained her registration is still not complete. “When I went back to the school to register her, I was given a list of papers I need to hand in, including her medical records, birth certificate and family card. I had to take my daughter to hospital for tests and give the results to the school for her file,” she said.
She is appealing to the Ministry to eliminate the red tape that wastes parent’s time and energy.
Calls from Arab News to the Ministry of Education remained unanswered.