Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — With the ministry of education shrugging off its role in deciding on the fee structure adopted by private schools, the issue, by and large, hinges on relations between parents and the school managements. As the beginning of the new school year draws near, and especially since distance learning has been mooted for seven initial weeks, many parents are reluctant to enroll their children in private primary schools and kindergartens.

Simultaneously, many parents have started procedures to withdraw their children from private schools to enroll them in government institutions for fear of coughing up exorbitant tuition fees, Okaz Arabic daily said on Sunday.

Private schools have witnessed a dropout and government schools have seen a considerable new registrations. Parents have requested to transfer their children, even if temporarily, until the situation is back to normal.

Faced with the alarming rate of exodus from private schools, owners of these institutions have reacted quickly and announced a considerable fee reduction. Parents of other private school students, who have shown reluctance on the fee cut, have called on owners to follow suit and lessen the burden on their pockets.

According to Ibrahim Al-Muslimani, a parent, reduction in tuition fees for the next semester after the return to distance education has become necessary because it will reflect on students’ loyalty to their schools instead of leaving them. Al-Muslimani hoped that the owners of private schools will take due care of the extreme circumstances owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hussein Al-Enezi, another parent, said that reducing the tuition fees in private schools can contribute partially to solving the problem of parents whether to transfer their children to government schools or keep them in their present schools.

Fawaz Al-Enezi called on private schools to reconsider and reduce their tuition fees proportionately with the current situation. “It is unreasonable for me to pay full fees for my children while they are studying at home, as this constitutes a great pressure on the parents of private school students,” he stressed.

Tweeters on social media appealed to the Ministry of Education to intervene and force private schools to reduce fees. Meanwhile, some considered the claim to be a right even for the second semester of last year, after distance learning was adopted with the beginning of the corona pandemic.

There are about 6,200 private and international schools wherein over 1.25 million students are enrolled. These schools also employ a total of 120,000 male and female teachers.