Hundreds of students and alumni in Saudi Arabia have taken to the Internet to appeal to External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to ensure that the boys section of the prestigious International Indian School in Jeddah (IISJ) is not shut down permanently.
It is the only school offering the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum.
“It is a very difficult phase for all IISJ student and staff. We need quick action and help regarding this…Please Help us,” said an online petition addressed to Ms. Swaraj, signed by more than 3,300 petitioners on Sunday, while more than 1,800 tweets marked #SushmajiPleaseHelp were sent directly to the Minister.
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The school for boys was vacated hurriedly over the weekend after Saudi authorities slapped an eviction notice with a deadline of October 9. The move came despite weeks of representations by the Indian Embassy to the Saudi Royalty and Ministry of Education. A court ruled in favour of the owner of the property that has housed the boys school with about 4,200 students since 1994, about 4 km from the main school building which is used for about 6,000 girl students.
The case has been in court since 2005, and although the IISJ won the original petition in 2015, it was struck down in 2016, with the court ordering the school to back-pay a rent of more than 32 million Riyals (U.S. $8.5 million or INR 63 crore). Despite IISJ making the payment, officials have disregarded the appeal that the boys school be allowed to function until March, when the school term ends and alternative premises can be found. The Indian embassy gave petitions to the Saudi Royal Court in August 2018 to reconsider the case, and in September 2018 to stay the verdict.
Indian Ambassador in Jeddah Javed Ahmed also reportedly sent requests Prince Faisal, who is the Governor of the region, and met with the Saudi Minister and deputy Minister of Education.
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The Saudi Embassy in Delhi did not respond to a request for response on the issue.
The eviction notice has hit the students hardest, as they are in the middle of term-end examinations, said a school official, who asked not to be named, speaking to The Hindu over the telephone from Jeddah. “The students were in near tears to leave their school under very trying circumstances. Our only hope is for the government to take the matter up directly,” the official said.
According to a circular sent out by the school on October 4th, the school was forced to shut down classes for the primary schools (Class I-V) for both girls and boys until the situation is sorted out, and boys of the more senior classes would be accommodated in the girl’s school according to a “shift system”. The school has also had to suspend all physical education and sports activities for now, due to the strictly enforced Saudi regulations on the segregation of boys and girls at schools.
The IISJ, which was set up in 1969 for the children of Indian nationals is seen as a lifeline for lakhs of Indian expatriates working in the Saudi capital, and has even entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the “largest human mosaic formation” involving 4500 students last year.
“The school has been touching the lives of thousands of Indian students in Jeddah. The Indian government should intervene, more than 10000 Kids and their families are eyeing at the Ministry of External Affairs and Sushma Ji for help,” said Daud Arif, a former head boy of the school, now involved with the social media campaign to save his alma mater.