DAMMAM, 13 June — More than 4,000 parents of the International Indian School students here will elect a new managing committee today amid controversies and allegations that the election has been doctored by the Indian Embassy.
Zikrur Rahman, the embassy first secretary and in-charge of school affairs, denied such allegations, contending that the election was being conducted by a commission comprising two parents’ representatives, a Saudi Education Ministry official and members of the teaching staff.
This is the first election to the Dammam school committee after a ruling from the Education Ministry that the community should, without any interference from the embassy, manage the affairs of international schools. Until now, the embassy was nominating members to the committee.
The controversy started on May 23 when a visiting Indian consular team refused to attest university degrees of aspiring candidates on the pretext that they would be attested only in Riyadh.
Many aspirants pleaded with the consul that the last date for nominations was May 27 and if the degrees were to be attested from Riyadh then they would not be able to file nominations. The consul would not give in and as a result many prospective candidates could not file nominations.
But it was the process of nomination papers’ scrutiny which fueled the controversy and allegations that the election was being manipulated by the embassy.
In all, 32 parents had filed nominations. The election commission rejected 20 nominations without assigning any reason. The commission also flouted rules set by the ministry that only one person from any organization could contest the polls.
But the election commission amended the rule, and instead allowed Indians from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and SCECO to file two nominations. The commission’s pretext was that these were large institutions and hence the exception. Out of 4,757 parents not more than 25 work in KFUPM. Similarly, SCECO also has very little share in the voters’ list.
The commission is passing the buck to the ministry saying it had amended the rule. What they are not revealing is that it was done at the recommendation of the school which did not give complete statistics on the breakdown of parents.
Then came the scrutiny of nominations. There is no denying the fact that rejection and acceptance of the candidates was more subjective and whimsical.
The commission says that it cross-checked with the employers about the status of several candidates and found that many had furnished false information. It also said that the criterion was academic strength, social position and income.
Some of the rejected candidates were highly qualified professionals. And some of the candidates in the final list of 12 have no academic background.
Several Indian organizations and cultural groups are boycotting the polls. “The election is nothing but a sham,” said Navodaya, an Indian cultural organization that has called upon parents to boycott the polls.