Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – Procedures for admission to International Indian School Jeddah for the academic year 2015-16 will commence on Sunday. Parents seeking admission for their children to classes LKG to 8 have to submit their requests through the school website (www.iisjed.com) before Feb. 17, according to a school circular.



Admissions will be carried out through a draw of lots, which will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. A reference number will be allotted online to all applicants and draws will be held on the basis of this number.



The drawing of lots will take place at the boys section in Rehab District. The draw for LKG morning shift will take place first to be followed by draws for the afternoon shift and waiting lists for both shifts. Draws for preparing waiting lists for UKG to 8 grade admissions will be held from 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m.



Photocopies of passport and iqama (residence permit) of the candidate along with the registration slip should be submitted on the day of the draw. However, original documents will have to be produced for verification at the time of admission. Parents or guardians of all applicants will have to be present for the draw.



Children whose reference numbers are picked for admission to LKG will have to come for an interaction with the teacher in charge on a given date.



The school authorities informed that 50 percent of the available seats will be reserved for candidates having siblings in the school.



The age limit of the applicants will be calculated as of April 1, 2015, and the minimum age for the LKG admission is three years. Applications of children who do not meet the age requirements will not be considered. Multiple registrations will disqualify a candidate.



The circular said residents of Makkah will be granted admission to classes 4 to 8 only and requests for admission to lower classes will not be considered.



The school authorities introduced the draw system a few years ago to ensure transparency following allegations of nepotism in the admission process.



IISJ, with nearly 13,000 students, receives around 7,000 applications for new admissions every year and it was able to accommodate only about 10 percent of that number.



Top school officials told Saudi Gazette that they are hopeful of finding suitable buildings to accommodate more students before closing the admission procedure for the new academic year. The school managing committee has been in a frantic search of a larger campus for the school so that they can accommodate all applicants who seek admission.



Meanwhile, the school will host the annual graduation ceremony for outgoing students of grade 12 on Feb. 17. The school maintained a 100 percent success rate in All India Secondary School Examination for the fourth consecutive year in 2014.