Recommendations by senior education officials to increase school working hours have been greeted with a negative reaction from educators, particularly female teachers who say that social circumstances already mean that they are under unnecessarily high pressure. The meeting of officials which took place in Makkah on Monday initiated a number of moves, but the proposal for extending working hours provoked the strongest reaction. “They should have taken into consideration the fact that most women teachers are married and have children who they can't be away from for long periods,” said one teacher. “We already make huge sacrifices.” “A lot of family issues stem from the long hours women teachers are expected to work,” said another teacher. “We were expecting the officials to discuss improvements to teacher salaries but instead they've taken up a draconian recommendation which has shocked us all,” she added. A number of proposals from the Makkah meeting were greeted more positively, however, notably the introduction of new subjects to the curriculum that address labor market needs, and the call for a revision of school facilities before introducing science and mathematics to primary schools that are not sufficiently equipped to teach them. Teachers noted that a high percentage of primary schools operate from sub-standard rented buildings. Unanimous praise met the announcement of the Ministry of Education “Prize for Excellence”, which teachers said would serve as a strong motivational tool, while the minister's setting up of a teachers' consultative council and his moves towards establishing clubs for female and male teachers were also commended.
