RIYADH, 12 February — The International Indian School, Riyadh (IISR), has expelled five students after an inquiry by the school authorities and the local police proved their complicity in a theft case. Twelve other students were temporarily stopped from attending school.
The episode has reignited the debate on school authorities’ failure to maintain discipline on the campus.
The students confessed to stealing computer accessories including nine central processing units from the school early this week.
They were also found to have been involved in stealing question papers. The computer CPUs have already been recovered after a team of school officials led by Principal Manzar Jamal Siddiqui interrogated the students, leading eventually to the confession by the suspects.
“All of them were secondary and senior secondary students, who have confessed to their involvement in the theft of question papers as well as the CPUs,” said Wasi Haider Rizvi, IISR managing committee chairman, in a circular yesterday.
In the question paper theft, the inquiry has revealed that about 25 students were involved. “The investigation into the case is still going on and anyone found guilty will be given exemplary punishment,” said the school chairman. The school, he said, has decided to repeat the XIth standard examination following the leakage of question papers.
Reacting to the incident, some parents said they supported the penal action against the erring students. “Of late, the school has been suffering from mismanagement,” said one parent, who did not want to be named. “Caning should be part of the punishment for serious offenses,” he added.