Administrative problems are plaguing the International Indian School, Riyadh (IISR) as the community school with a strength of 10,000 struggles to improve the falling academic standards. Uncertainty among parents and teachers runs high, particularly after Saudi authorities refused to renew the school's license for a full three-year term. They hold the nominated school managing committee and the principal responsible for the administrative debacle. They also alleged negligence of the managing committee on several crucial administrative issues. “The audit report reveals that hundreds of thousands of riyals are spent on school's maintenance. How come safety measures notified by the Saudi authorities were ignored,” asked an angry parent. The Saudi Civil Defense did not renew the school's license citing poor safety arrangements such as faulty fire extinguishing equipment and other required paraphernalia at the school. There are not enough equipment or are in dilapidated condition. A large number of teachers expressed concern over the non-renewal of their Iqamas (residence permits) due to the non-renewal of school's license. “Uncertainty is high among teachers, particularly those whose Iqamas have either expired or about to expire. They all need their Iqamas renewed to enable them to avail of their annual vacation starting soon,” said a teacher requesting anonymity. Iqamas of about 25 teachers have to be renewed now failing which they have to pay penalty for late renewal, according to sources. However, according to Manzar Jamal, IISR Principal, hardly two teachers' Iqama need renewal at this time while Talib Al-Rahman, the school's nominated MC chairman, said the number could be as high as 20. Other administrative issues facing the school included non-payment of fees for installation of school signboard on the gate, non-renewal of Istemara (motor vehicle registration) and non-payment of General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). However, Talib Al-Rahman assured the parents and the teachers that the issues facing the school would be resolved very soon. He said Saudi authorities have temporarily renewed the school's license on Tuesday. It will solve the staff Iqama renewal problem, he said. A school delegation including Manzar Jamal and other MC members approached the Saudi Civil Defense that allowed the school to take corrective measures while temporarily renewing the license for a six-month period, he said. “We have been engaged in fulfilling all Civil Defense requirements including upgrading fire extinguishing devices to get the license renewed for a full term of three years. At least 85 percent of the work in this regard has been completed,” he said. On the issue of Riyadh Municipality's removal of school signboard, Talib Al-Rahman said the matter was also taken up during the meeting with Saudi officials, who agreed to solve the issue soon. He said after the Saudi authorities were briefed that IISR was established as an international community school and purely runs on a no-loss no-profit basis and that the signboard on the gate was not meant for any commercial use. The Riyadh Municipality did not remove the signboard; it was dismounted by school authorities after the visiting municipal officials demanded certain amount of fees, including arrears since 1985, he said. The Saudi authorities understood the school's position and would soon waive the amount demanded by the municipality, he said. He said the school delegation also met with GOSI officials who agreed to waive SR27,000 fine levied on IISR for late payment of school's Saudi staff's premium. IISR is already facing a financial crunch and has recently increased the tuition fee that irked the parents, majority of whom are low salaried workers and already affected by the growing inflation in the Kingdom. Talib Al-Rahman said the managing committee is now more focused on a campaign to improve the school's academic standard and instill a sense of discipline among the students. He sought total cooperation from the school's teaching staff, parents and their wards. He said to motivate the teachers an extra increment, apart from a routine annual raise has been announced. It will be implemented from July. __
