Education Ministry: 82% increase in index addressing labor force distribution disparities

The Ministry of Education has begun the actual implementation of decisions to redistribute teachers and female teachers, as well as holders of educational supervisory positions, among schools, as part of a comprehensive plan to reform the distribution of the workforce in the educational sector. This initiative has contributed to raising the rate of addressing disparities in the distribution of educational staff from 34 percent to 82 percent, while the average commuting distance for transferred staff was set at 11.2 kilometers, in accordance with established controls, standards, and the actual needs of schools.

The Ministry clarified that the Educational Affairs Sector issued 8,703 transfer decisions, including 8,310 decisions for teachers and female teachers across various specialties, and 393 decisions for holders of educational supervisory positions. These measures were implemented in accordance with directives from Minister of Education Eng. Syed Jalal Al-Tabatabai, aimed at achieving balance and fairness in the distribution of personnel and directing human resources to schools with the greatest need.

The Ministry emphasized that the redistribution is based on an accurate analysis of school data, including the number of classrooms, students, educational allocations, actual needs, and the approved organizational structure. This approach ensures a balance between meeting school requirements and maintaining job stability for educational staff. The procedures have contributed to raising the rate of addressing disparities between schools from 34 percent to 82 percent, while adhering to a limit that the average general commuting distance for transferred staff does not exceed 11.2 kilometers. This reflects a commitment to balancing work requirements with job stability.

The Ministry noted that the remaining percentage of disparity cases is primarily linked to actual surpluses in certain specialties and subjects, such as Islamic Studies and Physical Education. In these fields, the number of teachers still exceeds the actual needs of some schools, even after completing the redistribution procedures. The Ministry affirmed its continued monitoring of these cases and its efforts to address them according to actual needs and field developments, aiming for a more balanced, efficient, and sustainable distribution of the workforce.

Among the cases addressed by the plan, the Ministry identified disparities in Arabic language teacher allocations between two middle schools for boys in the same educational zone. In one school, a teacher was assigned one class, whereas in the other, a teacher was assigned three classes. The redistribution of subject teachers between the two schools balanced the number of teachers with the number of classes, achieving greater fairness in allocations and workloads.

The remediation also covered disparities in the distribution of physics teachers between two secondary schools for boys. One school had two physics teachers, while the other had eight. Physics teachers were redistributed in proportion to the number of classrooms, students, and the actual needs of each school, contributing to greater fairness in allocations and meeting students’ educational needs.

Redistribution procedures also extended to educational supervisory positions. Data revealed that one kindergarten had 12 technical supervisors, who were subsequently redistributed to several other kindergartens with actual needs, in accordance with the approved organizational structure. The Ministry affirmed that this step aims to make optimal use of supervisory competencies, meet the actual needs of kindergartens, and enhance operational efficiency within them.

Additionally, the procedures included the redistribution of several assistant principals and department heads for various subjects among schools, based on actual needs and the approved organizational structure, to address surpluses in some schools and fill gaps in others. This is part of completing the staffing of the organizational structure and enabling school administrations to perform their responsibilities efficiently and stably.

The Ministry stressed that the addressed cases reflect the practical methodology underpinning the redistribution plan, starting from identifying areas of surplus and need, comparing allocations, classroom numbers, and student counts, to redirecting personnel according to actual demand. It added that redistribution serves as an organizational tool aimed at achieving fairness among schools and teachers, meeting educational needs, and maximizing the utilization of available human resources.