JEDDAH: The Ministry of Education (MoE) sent a notice to international and private schools in Ramadan saying if they they will be closed down in two years if they do not comply with new regulations.

According to the ministry, the new strategic planning aims to improve the standard of education. All private and international schools that are in rented villas, and buildings that are not meant to serve as schools, will be closed and their licenses canceled.

Mohammed Hasan Yousef, a member of the international and private schools committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, told Arab News that the order came from the Ministry of Education on Ramadan 8.

He said the latest notice served on the schools is a great shock to the industry. As there are more than 3,400 Arabic private and international schools that are working in rented buildings in the Kingdom, the ministry’s decision threatens the closure of these schools and scrap almost SR12 billion in investment.

The ministry will allot them land and give them loans to construct their own buildings. Those who do not follow the instructions will face closure.

Hasan Yousef stressed that the ministry should have done a thorough study with the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, municipalities, businessmen and investors before taking such a decision.

“The opinions of the national committees and investors should also be considered,” he said.

The ministry’s plan threatens the future of more than 700,000 students, 60,000 teachers, 70 percent of whom are Saudis, and, of course, investments in the education sector.

He said it will be a disaster if the ministry closed such a number of school. “How will the ministry allot land to thousands of investors and from where will they grant them loans to construct school purpose buildings?” he asked.

He said that because of this decision, there will be no development in the education sector, which will have negative effects on Vision 2030.

He also said the ministry should give two to five years to schools to correct their conditions instead of putting such a burden on them.