Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Elections to the new managing committee of the International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ) will be held on Thursday, June 20. IISJ Principal and Election Commissioner Syed Masood Ahmed said in a circular that the Ministry of Education has given clearance for holding the elections. According to the announced schedule, interested and eligible parents can collect the nomination forms after contacting the vice principal (Boy's Section) from Saturday to Monday (June 1-3) between 3.30 and 5.30 p.m. The period for submitting the filled forms to the same official is from Tuesday to Thursday (June 4-6), and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is June 8. The final list of candidates will be declared on June 12 and eligible voters can cast their votes between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on June 20. Ahmed said the managing committee would comprise seven members, with a limit of two members from one state. In case there are more than two candidates from a single state contesting, only the two who scored the highest number of votes will be elected to the body. Meanwhile, the Indian School Parents Forum (ISPAF) demanded rescheduling the date of election from Thursday, which is a working day, to Friday to enable all parents to cast their votes. Nasar Chavakkad, general secretary of ISPAF, said most parents would not be able to cast their votes on a working day. He also criticized the tight schedule for the entire process to elect the managing committee that was delayed for nearly two years. According to the released voters' list, around 5,600 Indian parents are eligible to vote. The number of parent-voters from the state of Andhra Pradesh topped the list with about 2,000, followed by parent-voters from Kerala with around 1,800. At present, the school has a nominated managing committee that assumed power in December 2011.
