Saudi private school teachers may have to work eight hours a day, six days a week for a minimum starting salary of SR5,600, according to draft proposals before a ministerial committee, said Ibrahim Al-Salem, head of the private education committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Salem was quoted Friday in the local media as saying that teachers are currently working six hours a day. He said a ministerial committee with representatives from four government agencies is revising the final text of the contract which will come into force from the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year. He said the unified contract fixes the minimum salary at SR5,600 for Saudi female and male teachers, with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) contributing SR2,500 of the monthly salary for 12 months which includes the summer holiday break. The HRDF was asked to contribute to teachers' salaries by Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, after a meeting with owners of private schools. Earlier, King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, issued a Royal Order for all Saudi teachers at private schools to get a minimum starting salary of SR5,000 plus a SR600 transport allowance. The order also stipulates that the HRDF covers 50 percent of the salaries for a period of five years.
