JEDDAH, 8 December — The Presidency of Girls’ Education on Thursday closed down three unlicensed private schools run by Indian expatriates here, according to an official of the presidency.
The schools also violated the specifications stipulated by the presidency for running private schools for girls, Ali Al-Ghamdi, director of private education at the presidency, said in a statement.
The owners of the schools, where some 200 girls had enrolled, were taken into police custody for detailed inquiries.
The landlords of the school buildings were also summoned for questioning because of their involvement in the illegal practice by renting their buildings to schools.
Ali Al-Ghamdi said the field-inspection teams sent by his office along with representatives of the police department, education department and Makkah governor’s office discovered the operations of the illegal schools where an Indian curriculum was followed.
Preliminary actions are being taken against the school authorities on the recommendations of the inspectors, Al-Ghamdi said. He added that the schools operated in villas in some residential districts and admitted only foreign children.
While in one school there were 150 students, the inspectors found 45 girls in the second school and 35 in the third. Preliminary inquiries also revealed that each girl had to pay fees ranging from SR200 to SR500.
The girls studying in these schools will be allowed to seek admission to community schools to continue their education, but the presidency would not recognize the certificates issued by the unlicensed schools, the official said.
He added that five schools had been closed in similar circumstances last year.
There are more than 150 private schools in the city operating legally under the supervision of Al-Ghamdi’s office.
A total of 40,000 girls are studying in these schools, which employ 2,800 Saudi and 400 expatriate teachers and other support staff. The syllabus followed in these schools are in compliance with the ministry’s specifications.
