RIYADH: Most international schools in the capital have adjusted their hours for the summer.
Kids at Bangladesh International School, for example, will start classes at 7 a.m. instead of 7.30 a.m. and leave school at 12.15 p.m. instead of 1.30 p.m.
“We have made this adjustment in deference to the wishes of the parents,” said Mohamed Shaheed Mohamed Hussein, principal of the English section of the Bangladesh International School.
Shaheed said his school has also canceled all outdoor activities for the summer due to the heat.
Saudi schools will continue to follow the same timings from 7 a.m. to noon for primary schoolchildren and to 1 p.m. for post primary classes. M.E.M. Farook, principal of the Sri Lanka International School, said that his school began summer hours on Saturday. “Air conditioners cannot cope with the scorching heat and children tend to get tired quickly,” he said, adding that his school has reduced the duration of the outdoor periods by 10 minutes.
School hours for Indian International School in Riyadh will be from 7 a.m. to noon for girls and 7 a.m. to 12.50 p.m. for boys.
Some of the schools that have sessions from 7.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. have not yet announced new timings. King Abdulaziz International School had strictly ordered its teachers not to take its children out for games and physical training exercises. The British International School here, which typically functions from 7.45 a.m. to 2.45 p.m. has not announced any changes as yet.
A parent from the school said that the adjusted timings would ease the morning traffic congestion.
