Many schools faced the problem of teacher absenteeism upon reopening in response to the Labor Ministry’s recent statement prohibiting daughters of expats from working.
Zuha Younes, a teacher at an international school, said: “There are many reasons that account for staff quitting their jobs, among which are low salaries and the fact that they have to pay half of the Iqama renewal fees. To top this off, there are new restrictions for expats to work.”
She added: “These are very difficult times for schools and teachers. The Ministry of Education needs to step in and help resolve the problem.”
Fiza Nafees, another teacher, said that almost 40 percent of teachers in her school had left because they were having trouble transferring their sponsorships.
Padma Hariharan, director and head of the Novel International Group of Institutes, said many teachers failed to show up because they don't want to transfer their sponsorships, while others had left fearing consequences.
“Though more than 80 percent of our staff turned up on the first day, this first week will be difficult. You can’t run a school properly when such matters are pending. Many teachers are not sure of what to do, as they are unable to work on a temporary basis. We hope that a clear decision will be taken by the ministry,” she said.
She said the ministry should take into consideration feedback from schools when implementing decisions.
Tanver, a principal at an international school, said: “All our teachers for higher grades were present on the first day of school. It is only at the lower school that many teachers have not reported for work,” she said.
Anticipating raids, expat teachers are no-shows
