JEDDAH: Most foreign schools in Jeddah said on Sunday they would reopen later this month or early next month as scheduled.
Representatives of various international schools said the directives from the Saudi authorities seeking an extension of the summer break in order to combat the H1N1 virus was meant for Saudi schools and not necessarily for them.
International Indian School-Jeddah will reopen on Sept. 28, according to the school’s Managing Committee Chairman Salah Karadan. “We are not postponing the reopening. So, as it stands the school will reopen as per schedule,” he said.
American International School of Jeddah will reopen on Sept. 26 as scheduled, said Tedi Caskey, the new principal of the elementary section of the American International School of Jeddah.
The British International School (Continental School) and the Jeddah Preparatory & Grammar School (Jeddah Prep) are reopening on Sept. 28 as scheduled.
Bangladesh International School (English Section) is reopening on Sept. 27, although the staff will report for work from Sept. 24, Mohammed Abdul Kaium, the school in-charge, said. The school’s Bengali Section will reopen on Oct. 3. Both schools reopen as per schedule.
Indonesian International School, Jeddah, is reopening on Oct. 3 as scheduled. “The school usually takes a long post-Eid vacation,” a spokesman at the Consulate General of Indonesia said.
Sri Lankan International School is reopening on Sept. 27 as scheduled, a Sri Lankan Consulate spokesman said, adding that the international community was initially in a dilemma following local authorities’ directives.
Members of the Philippine community said their international schools were not extending the summer break and reopening as decided earlier.
Pakistan International School’s English and Aziziah sections are among the few institutions that have decided to extend the summer break.
They said they are complying with the Saudi government’s directives to delay the reopening of the schools. The English Section will reopen on Oct. 10 for higher classes and Oct. 17 for lower classes.
Likewise, the Aziziah Section, which was scheduled to reopen on Oct. 4, will start from Oct. 10 for higher classes and Oct. 17 for lower classes, according to Principal Mohammed Ashfaq Mahmood.
He said the staff would report for work on Oct. 3 and undergo training on H1N1 virus with the cooperation of the local education and health authorities. “We are also utilizing the period for conducting a federal board workshop on education on Oct. 5,” Mahmood said.
Saudi schools were to reopen on Oct. 3. But, with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s order on Thursday for extending the summer break they will now reopen on Oct. 10 for higher classes and Oct. 17 for lower classes.
The king’s order sought postponement of the start of the new academic year by one week for the intermediate and secondary schools, and two weeks for elementary schools and kindergartens in order to make necessary preparations for combating the spread of H1N1 virus.
The order does not cover teachers, as they have to be present at their respective schools to attend training courses on how to confront H1N1 concerns.
Saudi universities will reopen on Oct. 3 as scheduled as they will not be covered by the royal order.
