The ratio of expatriate teachers in private boys’ schools has crossed 60% despite repeated requests by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to nationalise the teaching jobs in these schools, according to local daily Al-Watan on Saturday. The ratio, according to officials in charge of private education, has not exceeded 10% in girls’ schools. Malik Talib, Chairman of the Committee for Private Education at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), attributed the large number of expatriate teachers at boys’ schools to the non-availability of qualified Saudi teachers, especially in science and mathematics. He said the dropout rate among expatriate students due to the departure of their parents on exit-only visas, following the imposition of dependent levy and other taxes, was not more than 10%. Talib, however, has said that about 30% of the students at major international schools had dropped out amid the ongoing exodus of expatriate families from the Kingdom.