The Principal's Remedial Scheme: Fees, Gifts and the Attendance Register
Layla teaches Grade 11 Arabic at a girls' secondary school and her own daughter is in the class. Tawjihi is four months away. Three weeks ago the principal asked her to run after-school 'remedial' lessons at her own home for 12 students from her class, at 5 dinars per session, because 'the school budget has nothing'. Layla agreed verbally but has not started. Meanwhile a parent has offered her a gold bracelet if her daughter's coursework mark 'reflects the effort she makes at home'. A colleague has asked her to mark a student present on three days when the student was attending paid lessons elsewhere. And a group of parents has complained that the school's free remedial programme favours 'the strong students'. The school runs a double shift; the free programme meets 1:30–2:15 pm.
1. Identify the ethical problem in each of the four situations, state the principle at stake, rank them by severity, and say what Layla should do about the tutoring arrangement.
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Analysis.
- Paid private tutoring of her own class at home. Conflicts of interest, fairness and the duty to provide the curriculum within school; it also creates pressure on students who cannot pay, and exposes her to accusations of withholding content to fill the paid class. Severity: high.
- Gift conditional on a mark. A bribe. Severity: highest, because it corrupts the assessment record and is a disciplinary matter.
- Marking a student present when absent. Falsification of an official record, and a safeguarding and attendance issue if the student was elsewhere during school hours. Severity: high.
- Complaint that the free programme favours strong students. A fairness and access problem, lower in severity but within her power to fix immediately.
On the tutoring. She should decline in writing, and decline clearly rather than by delay: the verbal agreement was made under pressure and is not binding, and the fact that she has not started is an advantage because no money has changed hands. She should tell the principal why - conflict of interest with her own students, including her daughter - and offer the free in-school alternative below. If the principal insists, she should ask for the instruction in writing and refer the matter to the educational supervisor or the district directorate. She should not take the bracelet; return it with a short, unembarrassing note.
2. Design a compliant alternative: a fair, free, after-school remedial programme. Specify selection criteria, schedule, records and how she handles her own daughter in assessment.
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Selection. Use a diagnostic from the last two assessments, not teacher impression, to identify the students with the weakest specific skills - for example, essay structure and grammar accuracy. Admit by need against a published criterion: every student scoring below 60% on the diagnostic is invited, and the remaining places are filled in rank order of need, not by whom the teacher finds pleasant or by parental pressure. Publish the criterion before selection so the complaint about favouring strong students is answered with a rule rather than an assurance.
Schedule and staffing. 1:30–2:15 pm, three days a week, in a school classroom, with an attendance register. Because the school is on a double shift, check which rooms are free and that girls travelling home late have a safe arrangement. Ask a colleague to alternate sessions so no single teacher carries it.
Content and records. Teach the same skill sequence to everyone, with differentiated tasks; keep a one-page plan, the attendance register, and a pre/post sample of each student's writing. Report progress to parents in writing at the halfway point.
Her daughter. Do not teach her in the paid scheme (which is being declined anyway) and do not assess her work herself where the mark is high-stakes: ask a colleague to mark her major assessments blind, and declare the relationship to the head of department in writing. In class, apply the same criteria to her publicly, which protects both of them.
3. Write the message Layla sends to parents about the remedial programme, in Arabic with an English translation, and explain two choices you made in drafting it.
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Arabic draft.
«أولياء الأمور الكرام، تحية طيبة. تعلن المدرسة عن برنامج تقوية مجاني في اللغة العربية لطالبات الصف الحادي عشر، يبدأ يوم الأحد 1:30 بعد الظهر في غرفة 12. الاختيار يقوم على نتيجة التشخيص لا على طلب شخصي، ومقاعد البرنامج محدودة، وسيتم إبلاغ كل ولي أمر بنتيجة ابنته كتابياً. نؤكد أن البرنامج مجاني ولا يجوز لأي معلم أن يطلب مالاً مقابل دروس داخل المدرسة. لحضور الاجتماع التعريفي يوم الخميس، يرجى التواصل مع إدارة المدرسة. وتفضلوا بقبول الاحترام.»
English translation. 'Dear parents, greetings. The school announces a free remedial programme in Arabic for Grade 11 students, beginning Sunday at 1:30 pm in Room 12. Selection is based on the diagnostic result, not on personal request; places are limited and every parent will be informed of their daughter's result in writing. The programme is free, and no teacher may ask for money for lessons inside the school. To attend the introductory meeting on Thursday, please contact the school administration.'
Drafting choices. (1) The selection rule is stated in the first lines, because the complaint was about favouritism and a rule answers it more convincingly than reassurance. (2) The free-of-charge sentence doubles as a public commitment that also protects Layla from future pressure, without naming any individual or mentioning the principal's request. Note that Arabic is the delivery language of the message but the English translation is included for the record.