With the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) reporting temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius on Monday and with the thermometer recording 45 degrees Centigrade on Tuesday and Wednesday, many international schools in Jeddah are taking precautions so that students are not unduly affected by the summer heat. Saudi Gazette called a number of schools to ask if they were considering closing early because of the unusual hot summer weather. “We are not closing our school because exams are going on and will continue until June 30,” said Mohammed Abdul Qayoum, principal of the Bangladeshi International School Jeddah. “Even after the exams, we have one week of school, but due to the increase in the heat, we have shortened the time of classes. Before our class timings were from 7 A.M. to 1 P.M., but due to this heatwave we changed to 7 A.M. to 11 A.M., and even during this time we will not let the children go out in the heat. They will stay inside their classrooms even during their break time,” he added. The principal of the Pakistan International School Jeddah Ashfaq Ahmed also said that he is seriously thinking about the situation. “I am keeping an eye on the temperature as I know that in this heat the air-conditioners may stop working and no one can stand or do anything in such heat. So I am thinking it and we will take the appropriate action according to the situation,” he said. However, a few schools did declare an early vacation due to the abnormally hot weather. “Yes, we closed our KG section due to the tremendous increase in the heat. KG children will be on vacation from this Saturday, and the higher classes of the school will continue because of their exams which will finish on July 7, after which the students will be on vacation,” said Sayeed Masood Ahmed, principal of the Indian International School Jeddah. Ahmed added that the school is also taking precautions for higher students as well. “There will be ACs in buses and vans and the ACs in classrooms are being checked to make sure that they are in working order,” he said. He also pointed out that medical staff are available at the school to handle any situation. Regarding the recent tragic incident in Dammam in which a young girl died because she was trapped in a school van, Ahmed said that he has already sent circulars and notes to drivers demanding that they take every precaution when they pick up and drop off children. “We sent the circular to the parents as well, advising them that if there is any delay in their children arriving home, they should immediately contact the school. We also sent circulars and notes to teachers telling them that if any student is absent from class, they should call the child's home and check with the parents,” he explained. Waha International School has also given an early vacation to their KG section due to the onset of the summer heat and it has confirmed that the ACs of its buses are in working order. Fazina Zaki the registrar at the school said that “due to ongoing exams we can't let the higher classes go, but we have taken precautions. Children will finish school at 11 A.M. and the buses and vans will all have properly functioning ACs. We sent a circular to the parents advising them that they should check the private vans and buses which pick up their children and ensure that they have proper ACs.” Some schools had their last day of school on Wednesday because of which school administrators were relaxed. “Our school exams finished on Wednesday and vacations will start from this Saturday, for which I am really glad because it is terrible out there,” said Ashraf Taj, principal of Al-Wadi International School Jeddah. Officials from the Coral International School Jeddah and Royal International School agreed that they were glad that their schools would be closed from Wednesday so that students would not have to suffer in the heat. Meanwhile, several international schools in Riyadh and Damman have already reduced their hours of operation so as not to endanger the health of their students, with some schools closing at least two hours earlier than usual because of the hot summer weather.
