‘Class Struggle’: Vacated Indian School In Jeddah Is Back, After Major Social Media Campaign

The issue of the Indian International School in Jeddah (IISJ) boys section being evicted, after a court ruling in favour of the owner of the premises of the school, has been resolved after interventions by the Indian Consulate and the Saudi Ministry of Education, The Hindu has reported.

A massive social media campaign was run by the students of the school. The school authorities gave credit to this campaign for building pressure on all sides for negotiation.

The Indian consulate in Jeddah has released a statement in which it has said that through the “extensive efforts of the Embassy/Consulate,” a financial settlement between the school premise owner and the school authorities had been reached to “avert a crisis”.

“We sincerely appreciate the (Saudi) Ministry of Education’s support and convey sincere gratitude to all those who reposed faith in us,” said the statement.

The negotiated deal will give the school time till July to retain the premises, post which a renegotiation for the rental agreement will be done by the Embassy and officials.

The boys school, which houses 4,200 students, is at a 4-km distance from the main school, where 6,000 girl students study. After the eviction notice was slapped on the school, the students of the boys school had been moved to the second shift of the girl’s school.

The students and alumni of the school ran a campaign on social media urging External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to intervene in the matter.