JUBAIL, 16 June 2005 — The long wait by the Filipino community here for a school within the city is over, thanks to EQRA International School.
EQRA teaches the British curriculum but it will be adding Filipino subjects for Filipino students in the same manner that it offers Arabic and Islamic studies, said Vice Principal Amie Tito.
Like any other international school, students enrolled at EQRA are of different nationalities.
“The only difference is that we teach Filipino language and culture to our Filipino students so that they won’t behave like strangers in the Philippines,” Tito said.
School owner Mohammad Yousef Al-Buainaim readily approved the proposal to include Filipino subjects after learning of the problems besetting the Filipino community in Jubail, Tito said.
“We have been hearing complaints from friends whose children have to travel early in the morning to study in Filipino schools based in Dammam and Alkhobar,” she said.
Dulce Valencia, a parent said that her young children don’t have enough time to study their lessons at home because they suffer from sleep deprivation.
She said her children, who used to study in Alkhobar, have to wake up as early as 4 a.m. to catch the school bus and arrive home late in the day.
Not anymore, said Valencia, who has decided to enroll her children with EQRA after the school’s inclusion of Filipino subjects in its curriculum.
“I prefer my children to study here so they will no longer travel to Alkhobar,” Valencia said. citing that it takes more than an hour for the bus travel from Jubail to Alkhobar.
Remelita Santiago, another mother, said she will no longer have to worry too much over the safety of her children since EQRA is just within their neighborhood. And she is looking forward to saving on transport fee for her two children.
“We have two kids and we are paying at least 700 riyals a month for their transportation. I will be able to use this amount for the other needs of my children if they will study here in Jubail,” she said.
EQRA opened in September 2004 with 67 students enrolled in kindergarten and elementary. Of that number, 17 were Filipinos.
This early, more than 50 Filipino children had signified their intention to enroll for the next academic year, according to Tito.
She said the school owner is even open to the idea of applying for a Philippine curriculum if the number of Filipino students enrolled in the school will continue to grow. In a survey the school made last year, there were at least 150 Filipino children in Jubail.
EQRA is located at the corner of Prince Naif and Jabal streets. It’s telephone numbers are (03)363-3377 and (03)363-3355.
