http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=84637&d=1&m=7&y=2006
Saturday, 1, July, 2006 (05, Jumada al-Thani, 1427) Move to Tap Phones Upsets Women Teachers Razan Baker, Arab News JEDDAH, 1 July 2006 - Women teachers and employees at the women's section of the Ministry of Education in the Eastern Province have called upon authorities to reconsider a decision to monitor all incoming and outgoing telephone calls at the ministry offices and state-run schools. The teachers and employees have expressed alarm at the decision and say such "big-brother" tactics violate women's freedom, dignity and privacy. The Ministry of Education decided to introduce radical measures to stop women employees and teachers from using telephones at work for their social and personal needs. The ministry aims to curb gigantic phone bills and hope employees will be able to fully apply themselves to work. Sawsan Naeem, head teacher at Dar Al-Fikr Secondary School, said she never imagined that the Education Ministry would make such an "insulting and offensive" decision. Sawsan believes that the move cannot be justified in any way and that it gives the impression that the ministry is suspicious of the people it employs. "If an isolated incident happened involving a few teachers then why do the rest of us have to suffer?" she said. Sawsan believes money should rather be spent on other more important things to improve the quality of education in schools. Teachers from other regions also expressed their opposition to the move saying their peace of mind would be shattered knowing that someone may be listening to their private conversations. Teacher Suad Muhammad stressed that there was a need for the administration to have confidence in the teachers and people it employs. "How can we be trusted in teaching the next generation if we are not being trusted with telephone conversations?" she said. However, some teachers supported the move and called for monitoring to begin as soon as possible. They argue that the new move would give more time to teachers to concentrate on teaching. Maha Fageih, a teacher from Dar Al-Huda School, supports the decision and says there is no reason for teachers to oppose the move. "Several teachers and administrative workers have been wasting valuable time talking on telephone instead of doing work. I believe that the proposed arrangement will make teachers spend less time talking and more time teaching," she said. Maha accused fellow teachers of wasting government money by using the phones to have lengthy conversations during school hours. "This would be a perfect chance for Saudi society to understand their limits," said an education adviser at the Girls Talented Center. The education adviser said the system of recording conversations would be helpful in cases where members of the public complain that their calls are not answered. "In future if people complain that their calls are not answered then they can be proven wrong," said the adviser. The adviser also added that with conversations being recorded complainants would remain restrained. The Education Ministry has of yet not decided when it will implement the decision. The ministry has signed a contract with a local company to purchase a number of electronic recording devices, which would also warn callers at the beginning that their talks were being recorded. The Health Ministry in the Eastern Province and the King Fahd Military Hospital in Jeddah have both previously introduced similar systems that automatically disconnect callers after 10 minutes. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/aYWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Galang Dana Untuk Korban Gempa Yogya melalui Wanita-Muslimah dan Planet Muslim. Silakan kirim ke rekening Bank Central Asia KCP DEPOK No. 421-236-5541 atas nama RETNO WULANDARI. Mari berlomba-lomba dalam kebajikan, seberapapun yang kita bisa. ======================= Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com Berhenti mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com This mailing list has a special spell casted to reject any attachment .... Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/