School administrators have expressed approval of a recent ruling issued by the Ministry of Education stating that teachers who have resigned from private and international schools would be banned from being rehired for a period of two years.

“It has become increasingly common for teachers to transfer between schools. As a result, the teaching profession has become unstable and the learning process is being disrupted,” said the principal of a private international school in Riyadh, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This directive will be for the best in the long run, the principal said.

“Teachers will be able to focus on their jobs when they know that they cannot just resign and apply for a job at another school. Students will not also suffer from deficits in the course of their educational process,” she said.

In a circular issued recently, Mohammad Almarshad, assistant director-general of educational affairs at the ministry, said that replacements should be restricted to those holding university degrees.

“Teachers should also have two years of teaching experience,” Almarshad said.

Private and international schools have been directed to provide the ministry’s private and international education departments with the names of teachers whose contracts are canceled on an annual basis or due to seniority, in addition to cases related to requests for the cancellation of contracts.

Teachers who have resigned are divided over the issue. Some said they could make use of the time to help their own children, while others thoroughly disapprove of the decision.

“While some teachers can afford to stay home, many are teaching to help their husbands earn a living and to meet

financial obligations. With this ruling, many teachers will be jobless for the next two years,” one teacher said.