The Ministry of Education has decided to limit the number of expatriate students to 15 percent in government schools. “There is no huge increase in expatriate students, except in big cities like Makkah, Jeddah and Riyadh,” said Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani, head of the Registration and Exams Department in Jeddah on Tuesday. Al-Zahrani said the decision would not have negative effects on non-Saudi students and families. He said most primary schools in the Kingdom are facing a problem due to increasing numbers of expatriate students. Walid Ibrahim, head of Jeddah High School said his school had already applied for the quota, and had only 15 to 20 percent of expatriate students registered. “The ministry has issued this decision after a thorough study of schools and their conditions,” he said. The expatriates' registrations are under the educational management control which sends a list of the accepted students to intermediate and secondary schools, only after which the school accepts any non-Saudi students, added Al-Zahrani. “Since most of the time, the eligibility of expatriate students to register with a government school depends on the school's location,” he said. School managements have stressed on the necessity of generalizing English syllabus in government schools to achieve educational equality between students of private and government schools. “A non-Saudi studying at a private school with good English language will be preferred for jobs over a Saudi who may not have studied English at his school level,” a school official said. However, Al-Zahrani said Saudi students in government schools can take up English courses in other institutions to compensate for what they have lost. He said the Ministry of Education maintains a balance between the Saudi and expatriate students. Expatriates, however, choose to differ. Abdul Hakim Mardoud, a Syrian engineer, is not very happy with the decision as he cannot afford private schools for all his children. “Though private schools may be better for my child's education, especially in terms of their English medium, but I cannot afford them. Also, the school is too far from my house,” he said. __
