A private school in Saudi Arabia could face legal action after it allegedly detained students in a classroom because their parents had not paid their fees.
The students were allegedly kept in a closed classroom for a whole day last week, against Ministry of Education regulations, Arab News reported.
Parents of the detained students complained they were given only five days notice to pay the fees.
Lawyer Bayan Zahran told the newspaper the parents could launch legal action because it was illegal to punish students for not paying school fees.
“The complaint that can be filed by families of students is two-fold,” Zahran said.
“The first part is a partial complaint to the court, especially if there is harm to the students. In this case, they may receive compensation.
“The second part is to be a management complaint to the Ministry of Education, noting that if the school wants to claim its rights, it should be through legal means and not through detaining the students because schools are educational institutions with a role of educating society, not terrorising students.”
A school source was quoted confirming the incident, saying it was the first time it had occurred at that school.
Parents paid the fees by the end of the school day “out of fear and panic”, the source said.
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