JEDDAH — The managing committee of International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) will address the concerns raised by the community, especially the parents, with regard to the fee hike, according to Mohammed Abdul Raziq, chairman of the committee. He told Saudi Gazette that there was no alternative before the school authorities to meet the growing expenses other than a hike in tuition fee and transport charges. “We are fully committed to improve the quality of education and performance of teachers. The fee hike will generate less than SR6 million annually after deducting the concession in fee for some segments of students but the 15-20 percent salary raise creates an additional financial burden of SR9.5 million,” he said, adding that this incurs big deficit in the annual budget. Moreover, the school management is struggling to meet the high costs of operation and maintenance. Abdul Raziq said the school management is also committed to beef up the safety of students. “Due to our intense pressure, the private transporter has agreed to replace around 30 old buses with new ones in coming days, with about 20 new buses already joining the fleet. Moreover, the school's transport operation is running at a loss,” he said. On demands to use reserve funds to meet the additional expenses, Abdul Raziq said this would result in total depletion of the reserves. – SG
