Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Mohammed Abdul Raziq, chairman of the managing committee (MC) of the International Indian School –Jeddah (IISJ), said that the procedures of renting the new buildings for IISJ's 4th campus have been completed in a transparent manner, and strictly in line with the guidelines of the school's charter. He rejected allegations raised by some members of the Indian community, saying that the figures exhibited by a group of people in front of the local Indian media were absolutely wrong and nothing to do with reality. He also said that the preparation of the list of new teachers and concluding new contract for private transportation of students have also been carried out in a proper manner and there is nothing unusual or illegal in it. In an interview with Saudi Gazette, Abdul Raziq said the MC has made outstanding achievements with regard to improving the quality of education and infrastructure facilities of the school, which has more than 13,000 students. "We have exerted relentless efforts to find an ideal new premise to meet the community's demand for affordable quality education for more students. We have examined a lot of school buildings in addition to the searches made by the previous committees to secure a new campus." "The MC appreciates and is thankful to all of their efforts, which have now been crowned with success by the finding of an ideal building at an ideal location. We are successful only because of the blessing of Almighty Allah, and then the teamwork of the MC with the full backing of the consulate officials, headed by Consul General B.S. Mubarak," he said. Reacting to the allegations from a certain section of the community, Abdul Raziq said those who held the press conference are a very small segment of the Indian Keralite community. There are a number of major organizations that represent the Keralite community and none of them have come up with any allegations. "Apparently, there have been some external and internal elements that made futile attempts to get the school project blocked and that is in contravention to the broader interests of the community," he said. The chairman rejected allegations that the rent for the campus is exorbitant and it will be a burden on the community. "There is no question of either touching the school's reserve fund or imposing any fee hike as circulated in some corners." He said the MC has signed a contract with the private landlord of the building on an annual rent of SR 5.1 million. "We have paid a small amount in advance and need to pay the rent for two years initially. As per the contract, the rent will be applicable from the first day when the classes start," he said, while pointing out that the renting of the building procedures have been completed totally in a transparent manner. "The MC made direct contact with the owner and there was no mediator between the two parties." Mohammed Hyder Ali Quraishi, member of MC and head of the finance subcommittee, claimed that a parent can save at least SR400 per month and SR4,800 in a year while comparing it with the fee charged by the private international schools in the city. "This means that by providing admission to 3,500 students, their parents can save a total of around SR17 million in a year in fees alone." Abdul Raziq said the new campus has all the required approval from the Ministry of Education and other concerned Saudi authorities. "We have to complete some minor routine procedures with regard to safety standards etc. and these are fully under our control, like fixing broken tiles and gypsum." Along with the MC, the school principal, and administrative officer are now completing all the remaining academic and administrative procedures to move three blocks to the new campus and start classes there in the new academic year. "The heads of three blocks visited the campus and took measurement of each classroom and pasted stickers of class divisions on their doors. The existing strength of these three blocks is 3,026 while they have the capacity to accommodate a total of 3,552 students," he said. Abdul Raziq rejected allegations that the MC has bypassed academic expert panel while hiring new teachers. "We have closely followed provisions of the school charter in carrying out the process. A list of qualified teachers has been prepared after conducting written test and interview, and the entire process was transparent. "The selection was made by an expert panel consisting of school observer, chairman, principal, internal subject expert and external expert," he said. According to the chairman, the transportation of students is the main concern of MC. The MC is giving top priority to their safety above everything else. He continued: "The MC has not renewed the contract as alleged but concluded a new contract on the basis of new conditions endorsed by the MC, and the entire exercise has been closely monitored by us. To conclude contract with a new transporter cannot be done in a couple of months. We have to complete the process well before the start of the next summer vacation as June 30 is the end of the contract period with the present transporter. Therefore, we invited tenders through ads published in newspapers. Three contracting establishments came forward with their bids and they were Umm Al-Qura, Salem Hamad Al-Munajjam, and Nora Al-Qarni. It took more than one month for the managing committee to complete the procedures after several sittings with the parties to check all aspects diligently. The best quoted firm was the existing Al-Munajjam and therefore it won the contract again." "Our conditions included hiring maximum number of Indian drivers and the firms should have the license to transport students besides heavy license for their drivers. Only Munajjam could meet these requirements and thus it won the contract. The present contractor has consented to give SR50,000 toward parking its buses inside the school campus, and had purchased 35 new buses last year." Abdul Raziq said the MC is completing its term after accomplishing several achievements. "The committee has started implementing an ambitious three-phase project of smart boards. As many as 117 interactive projectors or smart boards have already been installed, and a similar number will be installed in the next academic year, in addition to introduction of reforms like online fee payment, afternoon shift for kindergarten, and help desk." The chairman said that proper maintenance was carried out at all the three campuses, with replacing of all the old air conditioners with new ones and renovation of infrastructure facilities. "The MC has also made the system of text book distribution effective by giving the contract to a Dammam-based company, which is paying one month rent of SR250,000 in place of the previous year's amount of SR175,000."
