Vacated Indian school in Jeddah to reopen

Days after students of the Indian International School in Jeddah (IISJ) Boys Section were evicted after a Saudi court ruling in favour of the owner of the premises, official interventions by the Indian consulate and the Saudi Ministry of Education helped resolve the issue, officials have confirmed.

School authorities also credited a massive social media campaign run by students of the school for building pressure on all sides to negotiate.

“We sincerely appreciate the [Saudi] Ministry of Education’s support and convey sincere gratitude to all those who reposed faith in us,” said a statement by the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, adding that a financial settlement had been reached to “avert a crisis” through the “extensive efforts of the Embassy/Consulate”, between the owner of the premises and school authorities.

Students are expected to be able to rejoin their old school within two weeks. The deal will allow the Boys school to retain the premises till July 2019, sources said, after which the Embassy and officials would have to renegotiate their rental agreement.

The future of about 4,200 boys, forced to move out last week after an eviction notice by Jeddah authorities to the school, had become uncertain following the court ruling in favour of the owner of the premises. The students had been made to move suddenly into the “second shift” of the girl’s school of the IISJ, set up in 1969, and which has a total student body of 11,000.

All classes of boys and girls at the primary school had been shut down until further notice. The situation had been made worse for the students because they were appearing for exams at the time.

Students say they are particularly happy they did their bit to try and get the school premises back, by running a social media campaign along with the alumni.