Amjad Parkar Saudi Gazette International schools have without doubt been an important part of the education mix in Saudi Arabia for decades. Throughout the country you can find schools that offer curriculums that cater to their respective expatriate diasporas, whether they are British, American, Pakistani, Indian or even smaller groups like the Italian and German communities. However, it is important to note that these schools are generally open to children of other nationalities, including Saudi. This has given more affluent Saudi and expatriate families the opportunity to ignore the state school system and choose from a wide range of curriculums offered by international schools. For example, 10 percent of the approximately 1,100 students at the American International School Jeddah (AISJ) are Saudi, according to its superintendent of over six years Dr. Mark English. He said 90 percent of the student body speaks English as second or third language, while only 20 percent are American passport holders. English said: “Because of this demographic trend, elementary school classes dedicate a minimum of 120 minutes per day to literacy in order to support our language learners.” The school charges approximately SR40,000 a year in tuition fees (dependent on the grade level), and when asked whether this might price lower income families out of being able to send their children to AISJ, English replied: “If you compare our tuition to other international schools' you will see that our fees are substantially lower. “Our policy of inclusion is the attraction in and of itself for those from low-income backgrounds.” English said the quality of the curriculum offered by the school is a key factor in why he believes AISJ is value for money, a statement that former 19-year-old student Judy Baho partly agrees with. Baho, who is currently on a gap year and is hoping to study computer science or computer engineering later this year, said although she believed the school was underequipped and the buildings rundown when she attended between 2002 and 2010, the teachers were of a high standard. She said: “Most of the teachers we had in high school were really good. They encouraged us to think critically and prepared us well for college.” AISJ is part of the American Education Reaches Out (AERO) curricular initiative, which helps schools overseas develop and implement standards-based curricula. Taco Gerritsen, a 46-year-old country business navigator for IKEA, Saudi Arabia, is a parent who supports the international school system. His eight-year-old daughter attends the British International School Jeddah for around SR42,000 a year, while his five-year-old son attends Jeddah Prep and Grammar School for approximately SR33,000 annually. Their school fees are partly subsidized by his employer. He said: “Compared to what we've experienced in the Netherlands, where we come from, the classes here have a relatively small number of students and lots of staff. “Both schools seem keen to gently push our children to aim for academic, physical and social achievement.” As a parent, he is a bit more pragmatic about why international school fees can be perceived as quite steep. He said: “Even though we enjoy our life in the Kingdom, we understand it is not a country that would appeal to everyone. “So, attracting top-quality teaching staff must come at a price. We as parents pay for that, and quite steeply. “But when the offering is limited and the demand is high, it's only natural that that would increase any price.” Arshad Ashraf, headmaster at Jeddah Prep for over nine years, said he understood concerns that fees might price out lower-income families. However, he said: “Our fees are not the highest of the international schools and, in fact, many Saudi schools charge more than us. “The fact that our student body is so diverse (the school's student body comprises 60 nationalities) just shows that we are not exclusive to privileged families.” The international schools mix may be dominated by larger institutes such as Jeddah Prep and AISJ, but bigger is not always better if you take into account much smaller organizations such as the Italian International School, which has only 80 students on its rolls. The school was founded in 1966 as a not-for-profit institution and its coordinator Giovanna Cardi, whose huge brief include being responsible for overall administration as well as liaising with the Saudi and Italian education ministries, said classes never exceed 10 students, meaning teachers can dedicate more attention to students. The education offered by the school, said Cardi, combines neo-Latin and Anglo-American approaches to the curriculum taught to students. Despite the small number of students, however, Cardi said the school attracts children from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. She said: “We are a school for an international society open to all cultural and ethnic groups of various religious backgrounds. Thus, our programs on a parallel view reflect a healthy bridging between cultures from all around the globe. In short you can call us a ‘global village'.” Its fees are generally cheaper than bigger international schools, ranging from SR10,000 to SR21,000 a year, and Cardi said they do try to support low-income families wherever possible. She also said that due to its limited funds, the school has to spend conservatively when it comes to marketing. “We choose to give a great significance and importance to people and their contribution; we cut spending on extravagant entertainment and purely focus on education. “Our plan is to use our budget, to its optimum, spending it on the students' progress, achievement and development of skills.” One of the biggest requirements of parents and students when choosing any school is how well the curriculum teaches practical and life skills. In other words, an education that gives students the skills to succeed in the workplace and in life in general. Certain international schools have long focused on providing this type of education, in turn benefitting students like Tawfeeq Ali, a 29-year-old web consultant working with the Jeddah municipality. He believed he would not be able to succeed in his current demanding role if he was not taught the basics from an early age at his school, the Indian International School, Jeddah. He said: “We started learning object-oriented programming in my computer classes, the same thing which I got to learn again and again in my university and technical institute. “Not to forget, this is also the place where I learned English, right from the beginning till the end.” He said when he attended the school, from where he graduated in 2000, his parents were paying approximately SR5,000 a year, a figure he believed represented value for money. “It was a new campus that had bigger classrooms and laboratories, one of the biggest school auditoriums, a 200m race track, really smart and able teachers and the CBSE curriculum, which was taught in very few selected schools.” AISJ also focuses on giving its students the practical and social skills needed by employers. English said: “Our classes are students-centered such that through standards-based instruction and performance portfolios students can articulate their ideas more concisely and have a more substantive understanding of how classroom instruction correlates to real world applications.” Baho agreed AISJ was a leader when it came to teaching life skills. She said: “Most of the students weren't interested (in learning) but the teachers themselves set good standards and were good leaders and role models, and taught us life lessons by example.” Gerritsen said he is confident that his children are learning such skills all the time at school. “They've learned how to speak English, while maintaining their native language, Dutch. “Rixt (his daughter) also reads and writes in English, and she's learning Arabic as well. “Jorrit (his son) is now taking his first steps in reading and writing at the moment. He also enjoys weekly cooking classes. “Besides academic skills, they learn how to interact with children and adults with different cultural backgrounds, and develop their personalities.” Jeddah Prep runs a comprehensive after-school program as well as a personal and social health education program. Older students are involved in a placement program where they offer support to the teachers of younger children with their learning and are also active in raising money for charity. Ashraf said: “In addition, we teach personal learning and thinking skills that help students develop the strategies and techniques that will enable them to be successful lifelong learners. “Staff and regularly invited guests from the fields of education and business advise students on how to choose subjects, manage their studies and extracurricular activities. “They also educate them about the various pathways to future careers.” The Italian school also places emphasis on teaching children skills to help them in the job market, but according to Cardi, enrollment is just as important. “We believe that education should be affordable to all and that children must be exposed to a varied education environment at an early age, no matter where they come from, as this will help them with their future interpersonal relationships as adults.” The Saudi Education Ministry regulates international schools, but according to Ashraf, the ministry has no say in international schools' curriculums apart from the teaching of Arabic and local cultural studies. Cardi said the Italian International School incorporates elements of Saudi culture and history in its history and geography programs as requested by the Education Ministry. Governance structures appear to be the same across such schools, with slight variations. At AISJ and Jeddah Prep, day-to-day management is carried out by the schools, with a board of trustees and board of governors respectively overseeing the management. The Italian International School is managed by a board of administrators that comprises parents, representatives of Italian companies in the Kingdom and officials from the Italian Consulate. Despite an overall agreement that the quality of education at international schools was high, there was a general sense among the parents and students interviewed that a handful of international schools had monopolized their segment of the education market. This was especially the case with Baho, who said: “There're not a lot of options in terms of international schools in Saudi Arabia. “(AISJ), if it had more competition, maybe it could've raised its standards. “Since the handful of international schools in Jeddah have a monopoly in the school market, they don't need to try hard to keep their reputation and standing.” This may be the case, but as demonstrated by the example of the Italian International School, smaller schools are also playing their part to offer a greater choice of high-quality curriculums to students and parents.
