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Female guards for girls schools |
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Thursday, 12 August 2010 02:10 |
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KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education has announced plans to introduce new security measures at elementary schools for girls across the country. In a recently held press conference, Tamader Al-Sedairawi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education
, announced that starting from the academic year 2010/2011, female security personnel will be deployed at schools' premises during class hours. She added that the ministry would coordinate with the national Manpower Restructuring Program to hire female security officers on a trial basis in order to assess the pros and cons of the new system. We will be able to determine whether this new system actually works favorably or against the educational system in the first few weeks. If all goes well, we will discuss the possibility of employing this system at other educational institutions as well," Al-Sedairawi added. Many citizens commented on the ministry's purported move. Elementary school teacher Tahani Al-Mutairi said that the presence of male security men may cause issues even before any form of implementation. However, since the ministry is discussing the possibility of employing female security personnel within the school's compound, working with them would be a smooth-sailing experience and efficient. This is because no one is going to complain about having to deal with male security guards, she said. Hussa Al-Sabeeh, another female elementary school teacher, said that deploying security personnel around the school during day may cause girls to misconstrue the situation, especially since their constant vigilance may restrict their freedom. Mona Al-Shakks said that female security personnel can have a positive effect, contrary to popular opinion. "For example, they can regulate traffic while we pick up and drop children in elementary schools. However, others might face more problems as girls will need more privacy," Mona added. On the same note, parents replied had different takes on the subject. Some felt that the system was much more efficient and would increase the physical safety of children. Others said that taking extreme measures might even scare children in the elementary stage. Adnan Al-Hindi, another parent, said that female security personnel would not create any problems at any educational level. Adnan also said that he hoped that the Ministry of Education(MoE) would employee competent individuals after conducting relevant interviews and not through random selection. Sahar Al-Sane was of the opinion that trying out the new system at the elementary stage might be the right way to tackle the issue. She opined that parents should not be ignored form decision making, especially in matters that concern children.
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