JEDDAH, 25 April — Some 50 girls’ schools in Jeddah are having difficulties in evacuating their unsuitable rented buildings after being ordered to do so by the Ministry of Education. They have been told to move into schools already established, with which they will share facilities and work in seven-hour shifts.
Headmistresses and teachers voiced their concerns about how they are going to deal with this sudden change, especially considering that final examinations are only one month away.
An intermediate school headmistress who chose not to reveal her name said that “a committee of engineers visited the school and decided that the building’s structure is unsafe. I was then asked by the school supervisor to choose any nearby school where we will operate during the second shift.”
Hamad Al-Othman, assistant director of girls’ education in the Western Region, told Arab News that “we are concerned about the safety of the students in each school. We will not wait for another disaster before we choose to evacuate schools that are in danger of collapsing.”
