RIYADH – Mustafa is a hard working, brilliant and disciplined student. He attends school regularly. He hates being absent from classes and laziness even in the last week of classes. His is a name repeated by lazy and absent students to whoever wishes to go to school during this week, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported Saturday. As of Saturday, the mass absence of students has begun. This demonstrates the inability of education authorities to find solutions for this problem. Also, parents and guardians prefer to let their sons and daughters remain at home, especially due to the lack of strict supervision in schools. Some schools are accused of making a mistake by not laying down special programs for the week before exams, creating programs to boost students' knowledge or even encouraging students to attend school. This contributes in the absence of a large number of students. We must not forget that there is clear negligence by some male and female teachers in drawing up educational programs that agree with the subjects. It suffices some of them to make a speech on revising the subjects without really working hard. This makes the student to resort to a private tutor to cover the deficiencies. This costs the family large amounts it is in dire need for. Abdullah Al-Fahd, a student's guardian, said it is quite normal for students to be absent during the last week before the exams, especially as the majority of teachers hint to their students that this particular period is of no benefit. He added that if there is no cooperation and coordination between the school and parents on developing programs that will benefit the student during this week, then it is better for the student to remain absent. Abdulmajeed Awari, an employee at the Ministry of Higher Education, said the problem is not with the students but in the schools and their educational and administrative boards. “We find many male and female teachers remaining absent frequently, especially during this period, or they are busy giving private tuition or preparing summaries for the subjects. Furthermore, they force the students to purchase them. This has happened with my children,” he said. Meanwhile, Faisal Muhammad Al-Ahmari, a Saudi national, said examinations were not a justification for remaining absent in the week before. He suggested creating incentives to encourage students not to remain absent. For example, extra marks could be given for turning up during the last week of school before the exams. He said he does not prefer the last week to be a vacation to help the students revise for the examinations. He said the role of the family to encourage students to attend school and not remain absent was important. Meantime, Fadhil Al-Fadhil said students have got to remain absent from school to revise what they had learned earlier in the year. He added that during this week some problems concerning student conduct increase. These problems are limitless, he said. Hanan Al-Ajaji, a female teacher, said students' absence during the last week before examinations is a double-edged sword. Some students might use it to prepare a timetable for revising the subjects and get ready for the exams or they might misuse it. She said it is preferable if the student comes to school to revise subjects with his teachers. But if their presence in school is of no benefit, then remaining absent is better. She added that the school has a big role in this by setting a plan to make the best use of this period by giving lessons to boost revision, besides giving teachers some incentives. She said it is regrettable that some teachers encourage the students to remain absent. — SG
