Children of OFWs continue their education and learn about their roots at the Second Philippine International School (SPIS) in Riyadh. Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Nhoof Elhada Samson studied in Zamboanga in the Philippines until the 5th grade, while her mother worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia.

When she was finally able to join her mom in Riyadh, she admits she experienced a major culture shock. But this was soon eased when she met her fellow Filipino classmates and teachers at the Second Philippine International School (SPIS).

“It wasn’t that much of a language barrier kasi we were talking in Tagalog, we were talking in English. Nagkakaintindihan kami, and there’s this sense of community na parang even if i’m in a different country, there’s a place here that I feel like I belong or I deserve to be in,” shared Samson.

Like in the Philippines, SPIS follows the same K-12 curriculum.

Principal for Academics Aris Gremio has made it his personal mission to preserve the students’ Filipino roots by teaching them about the country’s culture, history, and encouraging them to speak in Filipino or their mother tongue— especially after finding out that some had trouble bonding with their relatives back in the Philippines.

“When they go to the Philippines for their vacation, I heard some of them would not speak to their cousins, to their relatives because they cannot speak Filipino. Of course, their relatives or their cousins are not used to speaking in English, and so the conversation cannot take place,” said Gremio.

The school teaches Arabic language classes and Islamic studies too to also help students adapt to the Saudi society. In total, there are 10 Philippine Overseas Schools in Saudi Arabia: seven in Riyadh and three in the Eastern Region, including in Jeddah.

This school year 2024, SPIS was able to exceed its pre-pandemic enrollment figures at more than 800 students. Gremio said this is a welcome development since it also means that more Filipino youth in Riyadh are getting access to education.

“Here in Saudi Arabia, it's not easy to enroll your child in a Saudi school, they only accept citizens of the country. And in other schools, the private international schools, the tuition fees are really high,” he said.

“Philippine schools overseas can help the expatriates to actually send their children to school with cheaper or lower tuition fees,” added Gremio.

However, there are still no Philippine universities in Saudi so students have no choice but to return to the Philippines or travel to another country for their college education. Graduating high school student Princess Calisaan considers this both as an exciting, and mildly terrifying prospect. She wants to take up a cybersecurity-related course in Manila.

“Nakaka-thrill siya. Compared po dito na yung courses nila, iilan lang and pwede lang sa Saudis, sa Pilipinas po open po siya for all… Pero feeling ko po kung uuwi man ako sa Pilipinas, maho-homesick ako kasi siyempre po buong buhay ko dito na ako lumaki,” said Calisaan.

The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia is hopeful, there will soon be more Philippine schools or even universities in the Arab nation… as it continues to open up its economy to the world.

“I think with the liberalization regulatory environment because of (Saudi) Vision 2030, the possibility of having, for example, schools from the Philippines investing here is not too distant now,” said Philippine First Secretary and Consul Jason Arriola.

But he stressed that it all still boils down to demand.

MONTHLY LEVEL FOR DEPENDENTS SEEN AS BURDEN TO OFWs

According to Arriola, many OFWs and their families left Saudi during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided not to return, especially after the Saudi government gradually raised the monthly levy foreign workers had to pay for their dependents from 100 riyals in 2017, to 400 riyals in 2020.

The levy is aimed at managing the financial impact of foreign workers and their families on government resources since they benefit from state-subsidized services like gasoline and healthcare. Right now there are more than 800,000 OFWs in Saudi Arabia but Arriola said there used to be a million of them before COVID hit.

“(That’s) per family member so for your wife, for your kid, each kid you have to pay an extra 400 a month. So naging pabigat yun sa ilan nating kababayan,” he explained.

That’s why Saidamiin Alamada just chose to send his two children back to the Philippines, saying 14,000 riyals or over P200,000 a month was a burden their family could no longer bear.

“Yung bago kong baby, siguro ide-decide ko na rin na pauwiin kasi nga di na rin kaya kasi tumataas na rin yung mga school fees, bahay… Para sa’kin masakit pero wala kang magawa,” said Alamada.

But some OFW families are sticking it out all for the sake of sticking together, like couple Ericson and Monica Manzon.

“Nag-decide kami na ibalik yung dalawa naming anak dito kasi nga lumalaki na rin yung mga anak namin,” said Ericson.

“Kahit na magastos po, parang mas importante sa’min na makasama namin yung mga anak namin,” echoed Monica.

Still, they hope the levy will either be reduced, or removed in the coming years.

There are currently talks to adjust the dependent fee to attract even more skilled workers to come to Saudi Arabia but no solid policy has come out of the discussions yet.