RIYADH — Muhammad Hamad Dagreeri, a Saudi teacher at Jabal Maadi Elementary School in Jazan region, will be honored for his commendable job in training his students in the better use of mobile applications to pursue ongoing online studies. Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh has issued instructions to the director of education in the southern Jazan region in this regard. The move came after photos of the teacher went viral on social media showing him visiting several students at their homes in the mountains of the Jazan region to train them on ways to enter the ministry’s online portal “Madrasati” to receive lessons and assignments. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Dagreeri said: “The honoring by the minister of education is a medal on my chest, and I did not expect the kind of tremendous response from the people to what was published on the social media. I have been working with students for 13 years and consider them as my children.” The idea of visiting homes of students came when the school staff noticed that the number of students attending the online classes through the portal was very low, Dagreeri said. Subsequently, the teachers met at the school and discussed the reasons for the poor attendance and realized that many students failed to have access to the portal for one reason or the other,” he said. Dagreeri, accompanied by the school headmaster Abdullah Al-Maliki, visited homes of several students and fixed their problems of getting access to the portal. “The school has worked out several initiatives, including the one to go to students’ homes to fix the problems in the presence of their parents. We fixed the problems related to getting access to some students who have mobile devices at home while the school bought devices for those in need,” he said adding that the students were taught on how to register on “Absher” and how to have access to Madrasati portal. Dagreeri said 14 students benefited from their efforts. The school is situated in rugged terrain in the mountainous region located about 25 km from Jazan city. The teachers are using four-wheel drive vehicle to reach the school. The poor network in these mountains and villages constitutes an obstacle for students to pursue online studies of the new academic year that started on Aug. 30.