"The education authorities have no intention of using cameras to monitor violations in school buses for girls in any place, nor are they conducting any study on the matter,”  Director of School Transportation in Makkah Province Marwan Al-Suleiman told Arab News on Saturday.

The mix-up may be related to a plan to install GPS tracking devices on school buses to track locations and routes. Officials are also implementing a plan to place female supervisors on buses to monitor the behavior of students and drivers.

"This official would report to school officials if she observes any violations on the part of girls or the driver,” said Al-Suleiman.

The official added that his office recently completed a study on bus stops and schedules inside and outside the metropolitan area.

“However, we have sidestepped the issue (of ongoing road projects) by allowing additional time for buses passing through construction areas,” said Al-Suleiman.

There are about 250,000 girls studying in 105 schools in Jeddah municipality.