According to a trustworthy source cited by Al-Anba daily, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has sought the fingerprint attendance records of directors, observers, and department heads in the Ministry of Education “to use as a guide for the evaluation of their candidacy for leadership positions.” The source claims that in order to guarantee justice for all, this step is essential to either advancing with the promotion or rescinding it if it turns out that one of the requirements is not fulfilled. The insider refuted the reported intention to withhold salaries in the meantime.

Nevertheless, CSC Director Dr. Issam Al-Rubaian released two circulars. The first instructs all staff members to observe the official working hours, and the second requires the next superior to inquire about the attendance of the staff members. In order to ensure strict adherence to the working hours regulation, it also required the Inspection and Audit Office to conduct regular, public, and professional visits to the workplaces in coordination with the managers and direct superiors. In the event of an absence, a note was to be left on the concerned employee’s office. This note must be replied to by the employee and his immediate supervisor in order to verify the employee’s attendance at work. The second circular concerns the departments’ and sectors’ adherence to the individual mandates that the authorized organizational structure has allocated to each of them.

It reads as follows: “All those holding leadership positions are requested to consider the following, given the administrative, regulatory, and legal implications of the bulletins issued by the sectors and departments about the need for each sector and department to adhere to the limits of the specializations approved and assigned to them following the organizational structure of the CSC and in the interest of work: – Each sector and department shall be restricted within the limits of its jurisdiction to prevent overlapping.” A letter from the CSC about a particular department or sector cannot be revoked by that department or sector.- The CSC’s Director and Undersecretary have the power to revoke any bulletins that have been released by different departments and sectors.