The school, which has more than 1,000 students with 70 teachers, are located in three buildings on the same road behind Jarir Street in Malaz district.

The primary section is composed of a playschool and kindergarten classes. It has 150 children on its roll with 11 teachers.

Arab News learned the ministry earlier warned the school threatening severe action if it does not obtain a proper license.

It is understood the school has been running the primary section without a proper license since 2007, when the institution was managed by a previous board.

In a letter addressed to the parents of the concerned children, the school said: “It has been brought to our notice by the Ministry of Education (Foreign Schools Section) that official permission has not been obtained by the school when the primary section was started in the present building in 2007. The supervisor of the Foreign Schools Section has informed us officially that the primary section cannot function at the present premises until proper permission is obtained from the ministry. The school authority is following up with concerned departments. As such the management has decided to conduct classes for the primary students at the main school. Starting dates will be communicated to the parents in due course.”

The ministry issues licenses to schools to operate buildings provided the Civil Defense and municipal authorities issue the necessary certificates confirming the buildings adhere to government specifications.

The action was taken by the ministry in line with its policy of maintaining safe and secure buildings for students. From time to time, the ministry officials visit foreign schools in the city to ensure school facilities are adhering to standards.

The board of management at the school had sought an appointment with the Sri Lankan ambassador to discuss as to how it could solve the problem of relocating the students to a different building.

Meanwhile, on an instruction from the ministry, the board has also suspended the activities of the Sri Lankan Expatriates Society (SLES), which has been carrying out most of its activities at the school.

According to a member of the management board, the ministry had instructed the school not to allow non-school activities within the school premises after regular school hours.

A senior official of the society said the badminton court which is regularly patronized by its members will be closed until further notice. “We have been asked to shut down our free medical clinic, which has been running in the school for the past 15 years,” the official said, adding the clinic has been serving a large number of Sri Lankans in the city.

SLES has been functioning in the Kingdom under the aegis of the Sri Lankan Embassy for the last 20 years. Its official said an emergency meeting of the SLES has been convened to discuss the issues that have had a direct impact on the regular activities of the society.

The temporary closure of the primary section has left parents worried about the future of their children’s education and concerns that they may not be able to reclaim fees they paid at the beginning of the year. “We hope that the board of management together with the Sri Lankan Embassy would take appropriate action to resolve this issue,” a parent said.