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Female expat teachers in Saudi hit with qualification test
| Published: | 19 Sep at 6 PM |
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Following the scare over the legitimacy of female expat teachers dependent on their husbands’ visas, many private schools in the kingdom were relieved that they could continue to legally employ their foreign female staff.
As a result of the change of heart by the Saudi government, private schools went ahead and re-hired female expat teachers according to their needs. However, several schools are now reporting that the Ministry of Education neglected to inform them that all teachers must pass the required qualification text before being employed.
The test is mandatory for would-be expat employees at the professional level, but has only recently been extended to foreign teachers in the kingdom’s popular private schools. It would seem that a number of schools have not been officially informed about the new rule.
One school already affected is the Jeddah Knowledge School, with one of its educators confirming that the school wasn’t give prior notification before it hired several new female expat teachers. The educator agrees that in all professions, employees should be qualified and capable, and agrees with the necessity of testing to establish standards, adding that all teachers at his school are qualified.
Razla Shakeel Alawi, a teacher at Bangladesh International School disagrees, saying that, if foreign teachers are required to take the Ministry of Education’s test, Saudi teachers should also submit to testing. She added that, if the new test requirement has been introduced as part of the Saudization scheme, she considers it very unfair to expat teachers.
As a result of the change of heart by the Saudi government, private schools went ahead and re-hired female expat teachers according to their needs. However, several schools are now reporting that the Ministry of Education neglected to inform them that all teachers must pass the required qualification text before being employed.
The test is mandatory for would-be expat employees at the professional level, but has only recently been extended to foreign teachers in the kingdom’s popular private schools. It would seem that a number of schools have not been officially informed about the new rule.
One school already affected is the Jeddah Knowledge School, with one of its educators confirming that the school wasn’t give prior notification before it hired several new female expat teachers. The educator agrees that in all professions, employees should be qualified and capable, and agrees with the necessity of testing to establish standards, adding that all teachers at his school are qualified.
Razla Shakeel Alawi, a teacher at Bangladesh International School disagrees, saying that, if foreign teachers are required to take the Ministry of Education’s test, Saudi teachers should also submit to testing. She added that, if the new test requirement has been introduced as part of the Saudization scheme, she considers it very unfair to expat teachers.
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