Saudi parents of school students whose residence permits expire in the middle of the academic year have one-month grace period to get their permits renewed, according to the Department of Education in Jeddah Governorate. Schools should have parents sign an undertaking that they will renew their residence permits before the one-month period ends. If, however, parents cannot have their permits renewed on time, the school principal may extend the grace period to the end of the academic year if necessary, Al-Hayat newspaper reported. The Department urged schools not to allow any non-Saudi student to attend classes if he/she has an expired residence permit. “As long as schools have seats, they should accept Saudi and non-Saudi male and female students who meet the enrollment conditions and requirements, regardless of whether the students are from Jeddah or from other governorates. Transfer students, Saudi and non-Saudi, should be allowed to enroll in schools as long as there are enough seats,” according to the regulations circulated by the Department of Education to all public and private schools. The regulations focused on students who are absent and who skip classes. A student will be allowed to attend classes only if his attendance is more than 75 percent from the beginning of the academic year. If, however, the student's attendance is less than 75 percent, then there is no excuse and the school should report the incident to the Department of Education after completing all necessary procedures. The students, Saudi and non-Saudi, who are absent from classes for a year should be given an opportunity to go back to school if their age is still suitable for the grade they should be at. Non-Saudi students who fail or do not attend classes for two consecutive years should not be allowed to continue their education at public schools. They should go to private or night schools. Students from the Gulf and Yemen are excluded from this regulation.
