JEDDAH, 15 September — The International Indian School, Jeddah, is likely to face a major crisis as a result of the Education Ministry’s refusal to renew the iqamas of any of its drivers and other members of the non-teaching staff.
The director of education in the Makkah region has already turned down a request from the management to renew the iqamas of eight workers, including drivers and couriers.
“The ministry wants to strictly implement the Interior Ministry’s directive that the drivers, security guards and messengers must be either Saudis or employees of Saudi-owned recruiting companies,” Abdul Rahim Ismail, chairman of the school’s managing committee, said.
“We have exerted all possible efforts in coordination with the Indian Embassy to get the iqamas of the eight employees renewed, but the ministry has simply refused,” Ismail said.
The director-general of education in the Makkah region, in a reply to the chairman, said that “with regard to the letter regarding the renewal of the iqamas of the eight school employees, we regret to inform you that we cannot accept it. You can either transfer their sponsorship after receiving approval from the ministries of education and interior, or send them on exit-only visas.”
Abdul Rahim expressed his hope that the iqama problem for non-teaching staff could be solved soon. The coordinated efforts of the management, the consulate in Jeddah and the embassy in Riyadh, previously helped 12 drivers get their iqamas renewed.
The iqamas of the eight em-ployees have already expired and 17 more will have expired by December. A school driver with an expired iqama was caught by police while transporting students from Makkah.
Abdul Rahim has sent another letter to Dr. Mansour Ghazali, director of foreign education, emphasizing the need to renew the iqamas of the staff “whose services are vital... as they can communicate with children in their language and they are conversant of the bus routes.”