Saudi Gazette report MADINAH — The education directorate in Madinah is questioning the management of a private school for girls over a graduation ceremony that reportedly cost SR400 to each student. The school has also allegedly forced students to pay SR100 for each relative to attend the ceremony held at a wedding hall, Al-Madinah newspaper reported recently. Spokesman for the Madinah Education Directorate Omar Bernawi said the directorate has assigned Assistant Director for Educational Affairs Dr. Noorah Al-Baqawi to hold an inquiry into the allegations. He said if the complaints were true, the school contravened the instructions of the directorate, which recently issued a circular preventing any activities or events outside schools premises. Barnawi said the circular is issued every year and prevents schools from asking students for any money to fund such events. Violating schools will be held responsible and accountable. Sources indicated that the number of graduating students exceeded 200 and each student was forced to pay SR400 to attend the ceremony. An additional SR100 was collected from each of the 500 women who attended the ceremony. The school also set up an inspection point at the hall's entrance to collect mobile phones from attendees. However, no receipts were given for the mobiles, which caused great confusion as students and other guests were leaving. The school management then collected all the mobiles and locked them in a room. The ensuing rush caused some students to pass out and also resulted in scuffles. Parents had no choice but to call the police, who dispatched a number of teams and called the Red Crescent to deal with the problem. Around 20 students were rushed to hospitals, while others were treated on site. A mother denounced the school's actions. She said she had to pay the amount since she did not want to deprive her daughter of attending the ceremony. A sister of one of the students said she was surprised by the lack of organization during the ceremony. Such disorganization, she claimed, demonstrated that the sole purpose of the ceremony was to collect money. Simple planning would have prevented such incidents, particularly as some students lost their mobile phones and parents got involved in the scuffles, she said.
