Intense Power Struggle between Indian Ambassador, Community leaders to control Indian Schools in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed K.P

Riyadh: An intense power struggle has been going on for controlling the management of Indian School in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the largest Gulf country where about 18 lakh Indians work. Various socio-cultural organisations representing the Indian Community are agitated by a statement by the Indian Ambassador. Talmiz Ahmed, Indian Ambassador to Saudi has reportedly told representatives of cultural organisations that any paper (complaint) submitted to the embassy with more than one individual's signature will end up in the dustbin! This is the latest controversy in the Indian school issue in Saudi Arabia which started sometimes back. About 40,000 Indians students are enrolled in community schools in Saudi Arabia.

According to reports, the ambassador has said that any complaints or memorandums jointly submitted by more than one Indian citizen in Saudi Arabia will end up in the dustbin. All Indian schools in the Kingdom are run under the joint responsibility and supervision of the Directorate of Foreign Education, Saudi Arabia, the Indian embassy and individual management committees. Apparently there have been serious problems. especially lack of financial transparency in the functioning of Indian schools in Saudi Arabia. The school management system evolved over the years lack transparency and accountability to parents.

Many individuals and community groups are actively taking interest in the Saudi community school affairs. While one group is interested in keeping the Indian Embassy away from interfering in the functioning of Indian community schools in Saudi Arabia, there is another group favouring Embassy's role in Indian school affairs.

Indian Ambassador is reportedly against conducting elections for the school committees. He is of the opinion that the embassy is the custodian of the affairs of the community and so the schools should be supervised by the mission.

The ambassador was engaged in a fight with Dr. Abdul Majeed Qureshi, a former member of the managing committee who was involved in a land scandal. The International Indian School Dammam, with an enrolment of over 8,300 students and 400 teaching and non-teaching staff, is one of the largest Indian educational institutions abroad. The school has won a legal battle against the former MC member and the Indian Ambassador was trying to recover money allegedly siphoned off by the management committee member.

The IISD won the battle after a protracted legal battle with the former member of its managing committee over a fraudulent land lease deal. A Saudi court in Alkhobar ruled in favour of the school saying that the lease agreement signed in 1998 between Dr. Abdul Qureshi, a former acting chairman of the managing committee of the IISD, and Talal Al-Hindi, Qureshi's son-in-law who owned the plot, was null and void. The verdict on April 25, 2001 saved the school millions of riyals, which used to paid in the form of high lease payment.

Alkhobar court had reversed an earlier decision in the case in favor of Al-Hindi who had sued the school for breach of contract. The school appealed the court decision arguing that that the lease agreement was fraudulently entered into by Dr. Qureshi, in his capacity as the Chairman of the School Management Committee with his son-in-law, Al-Hindi. The school authorities were pursuing full financial restitution plus damages from Dr. Qureishi and his son-in-law Al-Hindi. The lease agreement was signed for a period of 15 years from July 1998 at an annual rent of SR90,000. The school paid one year's rent to Al-Hindi and spent SR90,000 on developing the land.After the initial payment at the time of the finalization of the lease agreement, the school refused to make further payments.

Reports suggest that the lease agreement was fraudulently entered into by Qureshi without proper authorisation from the Indian International School Dammam managing committee. It constituted a breach of trust on his part. Qureshi who was only an acting chairman of the school board for one month allegedly manipulated the agreement in favour of his son-in-law. During his tenure as acting chairman, he had no power of attorney to sign legal documents on behalf of the school. As patron, the Indian Ambassador in Saudi Arabia did a commendable job to protect school's financial interests.

Indian community schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia serve about 40,000 students. According to the Indian Ambassador, certain vested interests have been trying to separate the embassy from Indian community schools to avoid scrutiny of their actions, particularly in regard to financial matters. Since the school business is a lucrative one, several people like Mr.Qureshi and his son in Law al Hindi, have serious stakes.

In November, 2001 The Saudi Ministry of Education asked expatriate schools to hold elections among the parents and constitute management committees to run foreign schools in the Kingdom. New management committees have been elected for Bangladesh and Philippine international schools in Saudi Arabia and the remaining schools were expected to conduct election after Ramadan.

There are a number of controversies surrounding the Jeddah school building also. The pro-election group argues that the school finances require complete transparency and elected managing committees will be more accountable for their actions. There is another groups with clear vested interest who are opposed to elections and politicisation in schools.

The Foreign Education Department at the Saudi Ministry of Education has directed the IISD to form a new management committee after holding elections among the parents. Elections to IlSD were long delayed but the Indian schools in Riyadh and Jeddah are run by elected parent bodies. Elections to Indian schools in Jeddah and Riyadh were held nearly two years ago and elected representatives of parents were running these schools.

There is one group opposed to nominations of MC members by the Ambassador in Indian schools. They allege that the nominated managing committees in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam have indulged in scandalous financial deals, causing severe financial losses to the schools. They cite scandals involving a land deal and unfavourable transportation agreement at the Dammam school.

According to the new guidelines issued by Saudi Education Ministry in May 2001, the expatriate school management committee will consist of seven members to be elected from amongst the parents of the school children through direct election. The seven members will then elect a chairman and a vice chairman and a signatory from amongst themselves. It recommends a "one- to three-year, renewable tenure" for elected bodies. The Saudi Ministry guidelines say that a candidate must be father of a student who should have minimum graduate degree. Besides being a member of the respective community, the should not be member of another school committee and produce a no-objection letter from his employer. The candidate must not be a diplomat. The voters will cast their vote on preferential basis.

In the 1980s the then Ambassador Ishrat Aziz extended the tenure of the then school managing committee to ten years with a free hand to adopt any policy. Whenever there is a new Ambassador there is a change in approach, alleged some parents.
It was a former Ambassador who approached the Saudi Ministry of Education and suggested elections to the international schools managing committees. Now the present ambassador opposes elections and wants a definite and strong role for the Indian Embassy in the school affairs. The dispute has been going on for about six months now.

Some of the elected Management Committee members have resigned from their post, allegedly due to interference by the Indian Embassy in school affairs.
According to embassy officials, they are not averse to holding elections for the school's managing committees, but there is an urgent need of evolving an effective system of checks and balances to ensure accountability and transparency in their functioning.

It is unfortunate that some of the Indian Ambassadors who are posted in the Gulf countries become part of the powerful business and private interests and give secondary importance to community interests. Then there are good diplomats who serve the community interest. What is needed is a transparent system where individuals or group of individuals have no control over financial matters. All the controversy surrounding Indian schools is part of a struggle to control the school resources. The best option is to evolve a system which will minimize the cost of education and avoid undue profit making by community leaders -- whether elected or nominated.(keralamonitor.com)