Shura member regrets remark on teachers in Oman

Muscat: A Shura member who earlier described Omani teachers as “pampered” has apologised, saying that he was talking about extending the academic year and did not mean to offend teachers.
Tawfiq Al Lawati thanked teachers for their efforts and said what was discussed during the session were theories that can be proven right or wrong.
Al Lawati was referring to the number of holidays teachers take off from work each year.
This was discussed during the second session at Majlis Al Shura, which hosted Dr Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shibaniyah, Minister for Education.
After heavy criticism on social media about Al Lawati’s statement, teachers also denounced his comments, saying it was “inappropriate”. A teacher of a government school in Muscat said Al Lawati’s statement was inappropriate and teachers “deserve to be respected”.
Another teacher said that people, especially those in important positions, should be more careful about what they say in public.
Abu Umar, a twitter user, noted that teaching is one of the most difficult professions, as a teacher addresses young minds and
tries to develop students’ thinking skills.
@kjawhari_tweet, another social media user, said that the statement was not supposed to have been expressed, and that Al Lawati may have said it unintentionally. In contrast, twitter user Ahmed Al Mamari echoed Al Lawati, saying that teachers are pampered, given the poor quality of some school graduates in Oman who, according to him, cannot speak properly.
Al Lawati said social media comments had blown the incident out of proportion.
However, during the Shura session, Amer Al Mashrifi, another member, fired back at Al Lawati, saying that he will only understand the hardships of being a teacher if he worked as one, even for an hour.