JEDDAH, 19 April 2003 — More than 1,200 Filipino pupils and students of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ) may yet find themselves without a school in the coming academic year should the de facto administration fail to resolve its problems with the Saudi Ministry of Education.

This possible scenario developed as the ministry issued a “final warning” to the Philippine Consulate-backed Board of Directors led by Fidel Hernandez to immediately return control of the school to the elected board.

Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Howaimel, director general of education for the Makkah Region, said the “legitimate members of the Board who were elected previously by the parents” of IPSJ students in accordance with the MOE’s rules and regulations should be allowed “to carry out the duties assigned to them.”

Al-Howaimel also said the Philippine consul general should stop interfering in the affairs of the school.

The letter, dated April 2, and written in Arabic, was addressed to Efren Rodriguez, chairman of the ousted Board of Directors.

“This letter is considered to be a final warning to the school to correct the situation and abide by the instructions of the Ministry. In the event of failure to observe the above mentioned, the school will be closed at the beginning of the academic year 1424/1425H,” a translation of Al-Howaimel’s letter said.

Howaimel said the takeover by the consulate-backed group was a “violation” of the rules and regulations laid down by the ministry regarding foreign schools in the Kingdom.

According to Rodriguez, what the ministry wants is for the Hernandez group to relinquish control of the school so that an election for a new Board of Directors would be conducted.

Interagency Body

Dr. Amilbahar Matingca, chairman of the school’s advisory panel, said there should be no concern about the letter because Usop relinquished his post as interim chairman of the IPSJ Board to Fidel Hernandez on April 2.

Hernandez and Matingca also said they saw no point in responding to the director general’s letter because it was not addressed to any of them.

“It was not even addressed to the consul general,” Hernandez told Arab News.

Matingca added that the letter should not have been addressed to Rodriguez because he is not in charge of the school.

Even then, Hernandez said a copy of the letter was passed on to an interagency body in Manila — composed of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and the Education and Labor Departments - and it is that body that will answer Al-Howaimel.

It was not clear if the IPSJ issue was one of the purposes for the consul general’s going to Manila on Thursday.

Asked to comment on the possibility that the IPSJ would be padlocked, Hernandez said: “Walang maidudulut na maganda ang sulat na ‘yan sa Filipino community. So kung ano man ang mangyari, si Efren Rodriguez ang may problema diyan dahil sa kanya inaddress ang sulat (That letter won’t bring anything good for the Filipino community. Since the letter was addressed to Efren Rodriguez, it’s his problem if the school will be closed.)

Hernandez urged parents of IPSJ students not to be discouraged because they are doing everything to sort out the school’s problems.

Root of the Problem

Hernandez’s group seized control of the school in November amid widespread disenchantment by parents over the refusal of the Rodriguez Board to conduct an election. Parents also complained of the alleged excesses and mismanagement by the Rodriguez Board.

During the November takeover, Consul General Kadatuan Usop promised that an election for a new board would be held not later than Jan. 30, this year.

This was reportedly set aside because an interagency body in Manila composed of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and the Education and Labor Departments, was supposed to come to conduct the election last March but the trip was cancelled because of the Iraq war.

On the other hand, since the ministry has refused to recognize the Hernandez Board, the Rodriguez Board also refused relinquish the school’s bank account.

The Hernandez board managed to run the school, though, using its collection of school fees.

Closure of the IPSJ could mean big trouble for its students because the two other schools in Jeddah that are accredited to teach the Philippine curriculum may not be ready to accommodate them all.

One is the Al-Hekma International School, which is fully accredited by the Philippine Department of Education, but which already has 800 students as of the previous school year.

Another school is the Achievers International School, which is still seeking accreditation with Manila.

Established in 1982, the IPSJ was the first Philippine embassy school to be put up abroad.

It was turned into a community school in 1999 under a new rule issued by the Saudi MOE.

With an average enrolment of 1,200 each year, the IPSJ is the biggest school teaching the Philippine curriculum abroad.