The proposed girls' section which will host 350 students. This building in Rehab is waiting for approval from the municipality. (Saudi Gazette photo by Mohammad Mazhar Siddiqi)JEDDAH: While most children in Saudi Arabia and across the world go to school in the morning and return in the afternoon, boys at the Al-Waha International School, Jeddah do not have that option. Due to an unfortunate sequence of events, the school has two shifts, morning for girls and evening for boys. The boys' shift begins at 2 PM and ends at 8 PM, resulting in students reaching home by 9 PM every night. Background Zia Nadwi, director of Al-Waha School, told Saudi Gazette that he regretted the inconvenience that the split shift caused students and parents and that he hoped that it would end soon. Al-Waha International School has been in operation for the last 19 years in Jeddah and had a separate boys' and girls' section until last summer, he said. “We started looking for a new campus for the girls' section in March last year when the landlord of the building housing the girls' section did not renew the contract. He gave us a three-month notice asking us to either accept a rent that was three times what we had been paying or vacate the building,” Nadwi explained. While a new building was being sought for the girls' section, the immediate solution seemed to be using the existing boys' section and dividing school hours into two shifts, he said. Parents consented to the double-shift to ensure that there was no delay in academic studies and to ensure the smooth running of the school, he added. Girls studied from 7AM to 1PM and boys from 2 PM to 8 PM, he said, adding that students were provided with free transportation to go home at night. “A building on Mut'awan street, close to the boys' section was selected in August of last year to be the new premises for the girls's section,” Nadwi said. The building was a large bungalow and had to be renovated in order to match the standards required to receive the Ministry of Education license to operate it as an official school building, he said. Students and parents were notified that by the first week of Shawwal a new girls' section would be ready and hours of study would return to what they had always been, he added. “However, six days before we were to shift to the new school, the authorities informed us that residents in the vicinity complained to the authorities that they did not want a school in their locality so the license was withdrawn,” Nadwi said. Unfortunately, this building had to be left behind and the school administration had to start from scratch, he said. The new building is located at Sheikh Mohammed Bin Jubair Street but problems have arisen. “The repairs are done, painting is done and a year's rent has been paid, but there is a dispute between the Jeddah municipality and the landlord. Once this is cleared up we will then have two separate schools as we did before,” Nadwi explained. Parents Parents have different reactions to the inconvenience caused by the split shift system. Hussein, the father of two boys who study at Al-Waha, is not satisfied with the school's response to the problem. “Ever since the double shift my sons leave from home at noon and return around 9 at night. They are tired and worn out and have no energy to either play or do their homework. In the morning they have to get ready for school and have hardly two or three hours to get any real work done. I believe the quality of school life has deteriorated and the school needs to solve this problem quickly, ” he said. “I can no longer play any games with my sister as we hardly have any free time together. My father visits the sports club every evening but ever since I've been in the evening shift I have been unable to join him. I have to squeeze in my Qur'an teacher after I reach home and just before I have my dinner,” Rahman, an 8th grade student at Al-Waha, said. Fazal, father of one girl and two boys, said, “It is hectic because ever since they introduced the new shift in the first week of October, my wife has been busy the entire day. From the morning until late at night, she is occupied in either preparing the children to go to school or receiving them from school. She also helps the children with their homework and projects and so she has no time to herself. The timings are too difficult to manage. As soon as I am free from work I also help my family cope with this,” he said. Another worried parent said, “Now my sons don't have any play time. Except for the weekends we can't take them out anywhere either to play or meet relatives. This semester they had far less time to finish the syllabus. Their sports activities have not gone well either.” Nadwi wants parents to bear with the school authorities for some more time. “We always tell the parents that they are free to withdraw their children at any time. We can provide a Transfer Certificate at any time. There are many parents who have shown their support and stood by us and we appreciate their encouragement. We hope that the inconvenience will not last much longer,” he said. When asked by Saudi Gazette about the new building, one parent said, “I doubt that this plan will materialize any time soon; exams start this week, then there will be a winter break for three weeks.” “One building is being occupied by two sets of students, which means the school pays only one rent, so some compensation should be made regarding the tuition fees. The free transportation in the evening doesn't really help,” he added. However, many parents understand that the split shift has been caused by factors which are beyond the control of the school and that the school is doing everything that it can to solve the problem. Mujahid is the father of two boys and two girls all of whom attend the same school. He stands by the school as he feels that the school is going through an unfortunate sequence of events. “If it was up to the school, the problem would have been solved by now. We need to understand that the buck does not stop with the director. The Ministry of Education needs to work with the Jeddah Municipality to ensure a speedy solution to this problem,” he said.
