Saudi- Private 'Schooling'! 

(MENAFN - Arab News) The royal decree says: "No Saudi teacher, in private schools, is to be paid less than SR5,000 a month"! Yet 1, most private schools did not respond to the order accordingly!

Yet 2, most private schools increased their annual fees on Saudi families!

Education is suffering in Saudi Arabia! This is not new! It is important at this stage to state that: The agony would continue if laws and regulations are not monitored. Decision makers are asked to foster beyond the momentous media coverage. Teaching in Saudi Arabia is becoming a nightmare in governmental schools, let alone private schools with much lower salaries. The side effect is tangible in hundreds of teachers, who lost their appetite in making a difference! A great number of teachers are moving to other sectors because not much difference is taking place!

If private schools are meant to be 'private', teachers should be a priority. This is how it goes in the rest of the world. Unfortunately, it does not work out this way in KSA! Even when some royal decrees are meant to make a difference, the response is not up to the mark. If a private schools owner has the right to raise the annual fees for no reason, I suppose that we have the right to ask: Why don't they increase the teachers' salaries?!

- The writer is chairman, Saudi Cartoon & Animation Society.