Saudi Education Ministry to close private school, dismiss headmasters over high absentee rates

RIYADH: In accordance with directions from the minister of education concerning the phenomenon of absenteeism, the deputy minister approved recommendations which include closing a private school and dismissing a number of headmasters, according to Sabq online newspaper.

The spokesman of the Education Ministry, Moubarak Al-Asseimy, noted that these decisions were based on the observation of significant abuses in the discipline of students in a number of private schools, where the absentee rate reached unacceptable levels.

He revealed that the steps included the dismissal of the headmaster at any time of the year if he fails to monitor the absence of students and does not work to end this phenomenon.

The steps also involve withholding annual subsidies from lenient schools and restricting them from applying for the tuition fee increase program, prohibiting the admittance of new or transferred students, or even shutting down the school and revoking its license in the extreme cases.

The committee tasked with studying the phenomenon of absenteeism also recommended the publication of absentee rates at private schools on the ministry’s website.

In the same context, the spokesman added that the deputy minister of education approved the recommendations of the committee regarding many cases of widespread absenteeism observed by educational supervisors during their school visits.

These recommendations included shutting down a private evening secondary school in the south of Riyadh due to a high absentee rate reaching 97 percent, and dismissing four headmasters of private secondary schools for boys and one private secondary school for girls in the east of Riyadh.

Moreover, the task of setting exams for five subjects in these schools was assigned to a central committee in the directorate of education, with a warning to these schools in the event of continuing absenteeism.