JEDDAH, 28 March 2004 — The Indian ambassador on Friday made an impassioned plea to the Indian community to stop squabbling over community school affairs and resolve their disputes rationally.
“Under the charter formulated by the Saudi Ministry of Education, the embassy has no role in school affairs,” Ambassador Kamaluddin Ahmed said at a reception in his honor. “The ambassador is only a patron... a patron without powers.”
This contrasts sharply with the line taken by his predecessors, who insisted community schools could not be governed without active involvement of embassies.
The Indian community in the three major cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam is split between those who control school management committees and those who want to wrest control from them.
The ambassador said the continual bickering in the schools would adversely effect the quality of education. “The ultimate sufferers will be your children. You have a duty not to let this happen,” he said.
The Indian community should instead focus on life after Saudization. “Saudization is a fact. You cannot wish it away. It is a government policy. We should now think of the best ways to create opportunities back home in India to earn the same kind of money,” he said.
The Indian economy was flourishing and India was being recognized as a major power. “Now is the time to make the most of our booming economy and your rich experience,” he said.
Earlier, Consul General Syed Akbaruddin announced that he would be leaving Jeddah shortly. “I have had an excellent tenure here. I have been here for eight years and that is considered long enough in the life of a bureaucrat,” he said.