14,000 employees earn less than SR2,000 a month KHOBAR – A total of 900 graduates of teacher training colleges and universities, who failed the Ministry of Education's job assessment tests, will now be allowed to rewrite the examination. This was the order issued on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah. Prince Faisal urged officials to make the necessary arrangements to enable the candidates to repeat the test. He said it was important for new teachers to take extra training courses to help them pass the test and so qualify for a teacher's job. At a press conference held on the sidelines of the 19th forum for education leaders, which ended on Wednesday in Khobar, Prince Faisal disclosed that there are 14,000 employees currently earning daily wages, amounting to less than SR2,000 a month. These workers cost the government SR85,000 a day. He said the ministry has taken note of the situation and plans to find a solution to end the suffering of these employees. He said he has also asked officials at the ministry why no women have been nominated for higher posts. He said that women have the right to be allowed to take up top positions as long as they deserve promotion. Prince Faisal said that he holds the directors of education, in the regions and governorates, responsible for leading the education process in their areas. He called on them to take the initiative and not wait for orders or decisions from the ministry. He said they must help to inculcate a spirit of enterprise in schools and to come up with creative and developmental solutions. He added that in future, expanded powers will be given to the directors of education and then later to school principals. He added that it was “natural” for the comprehensive reform and development process in education to take time. Prince Faisal said that the leadership has given the go-ahead to the ministry's future steps, which includes the establishment of a state-owned development holding company, decentralization of powers, expansion of kindergartens, partnership with social institutions and working with the private sector. Other plans that have been given approval are an integrated program for electronic and technological developments and the current work taking place on developing curricula.
