Gathering in front of ministry building is not the right way to seek appointment or redressal of any grievance, Dr. Saad Bin Saud Aal Fuhaid, Undersecretary for School Affairs in the Ministry of Education, said here Saturday. The official's reaction came as reports emerge that 200 unemployed Saudi university graduates staged a rare protest outside the ministry building in the capital demanding the state give them jobs. Aal Fuhaid said that the ministry acknowledges the need of Arabic language graduates for education or non-education jobs. However, he said, the Ministry of Education is not the body responsible for appointment; it only determines the number of teachers it needs in accordance with the jobs available. Unemployment hit 10.5 percent last year, according to official data, and creating jobs for a fast-growing native population of more than 18 million is one of the biggest challenges facing the country's leadership. Several Arabic newspapers carried pictures of graduates from state universities gathering on Saturday in front of the education ministry building to demand jobs as Arabic language teachers. “Enough injustice,” read one slogan carried by the protestors in front of the ministry building. With a population officially at 27.1 million, Saudi Arabia offers its nationals social benefits but these are below those granted by other Gulf Arab oil producers such as Kuwait and Qatar, which have much smaller native populations. Many Saudis are forced to work as taxi drivers, private security guards or other low-paid jobs to make ends meet. Nayef Al-Tamimi, a spokesman for the protesters, said they had graduated from university but were unable to find work, according to the daily newspaper Al-Hayat. “I was surprised about the lack of opportunities despite the need for teachers but the ministry was not interested in this,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
