By Hamid Al-Attas
Okaz/Saudi Gazette


JEDDAH — Jeddah Education Administration has temporarily banned enrollment of Saudi students in international schools in the city. The decision was taken after some international schools enrolled Saudi students without first obtaining the necessary accreditation.

“The decision to halt enrollment is temporary,” assured Dr. Sadiq Dahlan, member of national committee of international schools at the Council of Saudi Chambers. “Some international schools have accepted Saudi students even though they have not obtained the proper license from the ministry.

Moreover, some of these schools would not meet the minimum requirements set by the ministry.”

The ministry requires any school wishing to enroll Saudi students to score 70 percent on the annual school assessment form. These schools should also be compliant with Islamic principles, owned by Saudi investors, teach Islamic education, Arabic language and Kingdom’s geography and history.

The demand for international schools by Saudi families has been on the increase in the Kingdom.

This has led the ministry to grant many more licenses to international schools to meet the local demand. There are a total of 170 international schools in the Kingdom.