JEDDAH, 18 February 2003 — It is business as usual for commercial English language schools and colleges, as they anticipate little or no effect on academic life in the event of a war in Iraq.
"We are a commercial language school and respond to the needs and requirements of our clients," said James Ward, director of ELS English Language Center in Jeddah, which provides teachers to high schools.
"So far, none have expressed any change in their English language schedules. We will continue to run courses as normal," Ward added.
Ward does, however, anticipate a reduc-tion in walk-in students.
"During the 1991 Gulf War, their numbers dropped off considerably," he explained.
At the Millennium Institute for Technology and Management, Naif Abdullah Mokhayesh was equally optimistic.
"We have no plans to change or cut any of our courses," he said. "Our doors are open, we are still registering students and will continue to do so unless there is a radical change in circumstances."
"We have had no notification of any changes," said Richard Goffin, chairman of the Medical English Unit at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
In 1990, state-run institutions closed for a period during the hostilities.
"The number of students applying for Jeddah-based courses has continued to rise steadily, much as we expected," said Zahir Daou, a manager at the British Council, add-ing that the number of students applying for courses in the UK had dropped slightly.
He suggested this might be due to uncer-tainty among applicants of how they will be treated in the UK.
"The visa procedures are normal and there really is no foundation for concern about their safety in England," Daou added.
However, contingency plans are in place. All institutions anticipated possible closure for a short period as the maximum disrup-tion to normal business. "We will make decisions about any change to courses much closer to any possible conflict," said Zahir Daou, echoing the sentiments of all direc-tors of studies we spoke to.
Nigel Woolnough, headmaster of Jeddah Prep School, which has 600 pupils, said the safety of staff and pupils was the school’s paramount consideration. "We have plans in place in case of major disruption to our school community," he added.
