Much-awaited and controversial Indian School Bahrain AGM to be held tomorrow

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

A group of parents at one of Bahrain's major expatriate schools has accused its Executive Committee (EC) of poor financial management, unfair treatment of pupils, and a delay in holding the next elections.

The Indian School Bahrain (ISB), which has campuses in Isa Town and Riffa, has a BD 1,282,410 deficit, according to Abraham John, a former chairman at the school.

The present administration is also accused of intimidating pupils from low-income families by withholding their test results and failing to promote them to the next class.

Mr. John, who claims to speak on behalf of a large group of worried parents, told The Daily Tribune that the current EC is also causing unnecessary delays in conducting the elections to appoint the next team.

He also accused them of failing to replace committee board members who left for various reasons.

According to reports, the Riffa campus principal issued a circular to parents who were unable to pay the fees due to the pandemic's impact.

The circular also discusses the BD634,932 in outstanding payments from the parents of 5,719 students.

The school has requested immediate payment or else they will withhold their results and prevent them from progressing to higher classes.

Mr. John argues that the school administration has postponed the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for no apparent reason.

He also questioned the positions of numerous board members, including the chairman, whose children had left the school for good.

"The school managed to generate over BD4 million in 2015 by increasing the fee structure," Mr John told The Daily Tribune.

"What happened to the funds?"

"We raised the fees to enhance cash flow and raise teachers' salaries."

"Even throughout the epidemic, the school received infrastructure development fees, but the school administration neglected to pay 25 installments totalling nearly BD1.2 million."

"Where have these dinars gone?"

Meanwhile, these accusations were denied by the EC who issued an official statement confirming their stance and clarifying that the AGM is scheduled to be held tomorrow (March 10).

The statement acknowledged that, in a letter dated September 6, 2020, they had notified the Education Ministry that the AGM and election to the 2020-2023 term officials were scheduled for October 2020.

However, due to the pandemic, the EC requested recommendations from the Ministry for further action since it was not allowed to gather at that time due to Covid restrictions.

The Ministry, hence, issued directives in November 2020, giving the school the choice of extending the present board's tenure for another three years or electing a new EC by electronic voting.

On November 25, 2020, the EC called an emergency meeting to review the Ministry's options.

Following extensive consideration, all members unanimously agreed to continue with the existing EC until the situation allows for the AGM and election to the EC to be held safely, securely, and fairly.

The ISB parents were notified of these decisions via a school circular.

After this, a parent who ran in and lost the election filed a court petition against the Ministry's decision to prolong the term of the current EC pursuant to COVID-19 conditions.

The petition was initiated against the Ministry of Education, The Indian School, and 11 EC members.

The case pleaded for the dismissal of the present EC and the appointment of the complainant (plaintiff) and the other candidates who lost in the 2017 election as new members of the EC, even if only temporarily until the next elections.

The petition also requested that the EC elections be held as quickly as possible, in accordance with the rules of the school's constitution, using traditional election techniques.

After a public hearing on April 28, 2021, the Court issued its verdict.

The review states that ‘the court ruled with rejecting the case and obligated the plaintiff to pay the expenses against the attorney’s fees’.

The ISB parents were informed about these rulings in a circular dated 16/05/2021 from the school.

AGM The school applied to the MoE in September last year seeking approval for conducting the AGM and the election for the EC, for which the MoE has given directives to conduct the AGM.

Accordingly, the AGM will be held in the ISB Riffa Campus auditorium on March 10, 2023, with the concerned authority’s approval.

The court dismissed the case and ordered the plaintiff to pay the expenditures against the attorney's fees.

The ISB parents were notified of these rulings via a school circular.

Meanwhile the school applied to the Ministry last September for permission to hold the AGM and election for the EC for which permission was granted.

As a result, the AGM will be conducted in the ISB Riffa campus auditorium on March 10, 2023.