Parents of children studying at the English section of the Pakistan International School in Rehab (PISJ-ES)are in dishevelment after the school hiked its fees, which were already considered high compared to other community schools.
Khalid Cheema, the father of a student at the school, said that many parents will not be able to afford the fee hike. “A parents’ management committee should be formed to examine such matters from a parents’ point of view,” he said.
“School fees were already high and school authorities increased them by more than 20 percent, which is not affordable for an average Pakistani. The school is a community school. The consulate and embassy should interfere and find out why this has happened. They should also check the entire system of the school, as many issues need to be rectified,” he said.
He said that fees were SR900 for primary school, which school authorities increased to SR1,100, while secondary school fees are even higher. Even the bus fees increased to SR 300 per month.
“There is no one to ask what is going on at the school. The consulate should monitor the fee payment system,” he added.
He requested the consulate to find a school principal that would be present at the school. “Principals should be around all the time and not spend half their time in Pakistan. This affects the school system and children’s’ education,” he added.
Another father, Mohammed Ilyas, said that the increment in school fees would affect the education of their children. Parents have nowhere to complain, he said.
“This increment is not fair on parents, as we were already paying high fees. School authorities have increased them without any notice or concern for parents. We are also paying for extra-curricular activities and tuition out of school. Where is an average Pakistani to find such money? This is a community school. Even the price of books and uniforms have increased,” he said.
He requested to bring the fees back to the previous level so the education of many children would not be affected.
Another father, Fiyaz Husain, said “a parent who has two or three children at school can’t afford the fees and this will impact the education of many children,” he said.
An ex-parent committee member, Athar Ali Bokhari, told Arab News that the previous committee was dissolved in 2007 and that there had been no committee in the school since then.
Pakistani Consul General Aftab Khokher told Arab News that parents can send him a written request about their problems and the fee hike, as well as to the Ministry of Education. The consulate will look into the matter and try to resolve it.
“The Ministry of Education gave permission to international schools to increase their fees if required. Technically, they gave permission, but we will look into the increase. We cannot take action unless parents come forward,” he explained.
“Parents should also not bring any politics into the school. We are trying to bring things back on the right track. The Pakistani ambassador already sent a request to the Ministry of Education for the improvement of the parents’ management committee. We requested removing the condition that stipulates that only parents can participate in this committee so qualified people can take care of issues,” he said.
Arab News called PISJ-ES to discuss these complaints with authorities. The school administration not only refused to talk to Arab News but was told not to call again.
Parents feel the pinch as Pak school hikes fee
Parents feel the pinch as Pak school hikes fee
Riyadh exhibition brings Saudi and Chinese contemporary art into dialogue
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture has announced that the Common Ground Festival, produced by Benchmark, will take place from Dec. 24, 2025 to Jan. 6, 2026 at Misk City, Riyadh.
The exhibition celebrates the Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year 2025 and 35 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Sigg Art Foundation presents “When the Wind Turns East,” a landmark exhibition as part of the festival, featuring works by more than 60 contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia and China.
Among the works on display are significant pieces from the Uli Sigg Collection composed of Chinese contemporary art and the Pierre Sigg Collection of Saudi contemporary art, alongside works from other important collections and directly from artists’ studios.
The Uli Sigg Collection, one of the most comprehensive assemblages of Chinese contemporary art in the world, chronicles the evolution of Chinese artistic practice from the late 20th century to the present.
Uli Sigg, former Swiss ambassador to China, began collecting in the 1980s, with much of his collection donated to Hong Kong’s M+ museum.
The Pierre Sigg Collection encompasses a large body of works, from Modern Art and Post War work to very young artists.
It also documents the dynamic evolution of Saudi artistic practice, capturing a generation of Saudi artists engaging with heritage, innovation, and contemporary identity.
Founded by Pierre Sigg, the collection represents a commitment to preserving and promoting Saudi contemporary art.
“For these two collections to contribute to this exhibition in Riyadh, at a moment celebrating Saudi-Chinese cultural exchange, feels like a natural evolution of what we have always believed: that art transcends borders and speaks a universal language,” Pierre Sigg said.
Among the 60-plus artists presented in “When the Wind Turns East,” these works from the Uli Sigg and Pierre Sigg collections exemplify the exhibition’s dialogue between Saudi and Chinese contemporary art:
From the Pierre Sigg Collection (Saudi artists): Nabila Abuljadayel — The Kiswa, Threads of Faith Crafted in Silk; Manal Al-Dowayan — The Emerging VIII, acrylic on natural linen; Lulwah Al-Homoud — The Language of Existence Series – Al Qudous, mixed media archival paper; and Rashed Al-Shashai — Brand 5, lightbox and mixed media.
From the Uli Sigg Collection (Chinese artists): Gao Weigang — Mountainside, oil on canvas; and Xue Feng — Domains, oil on canvas.
These works, alongside pieces by more than 55 other artists, span painting, textile, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and light-based installation, reflecting the extraordinary diversity of contemporary practice in both artistic communities.
“When the Wind Turns East” is the art centerpiece of the Common Ground Festival, a multidisciplinary cultural celebration exploring Saudi-Chinese exchange through visual arts, performing arts, culinary traditions, and craft demonstrations.
