JEDDAH: The Ministry of Education has not backed away from a trial to allow boys up to third year to study in private elementary schools for girls, a senior education official announced on Monday.

Head of the Private and Foreign Education Committee at the ministry in Jeddah Muhammad Hassan Yousif told Arab News 15 private elementary schools for girls had been granted permission to accept boys in the first, second and third classes which would then be taught by women on the condition the boys study in separate classrooms. “The boys can mix with girls in all school facilities including the campus, the courtyard as well as the cafeteria and also join them in the morning procession,” he explained.

The official said the ministry has given the schools textbooks to distribute among the boys and revealed that some schools have already started implementing the initiative. Yousif said that although he has already obtained permission from the ministry to implement co-education in six of his own private schools he is yet to begin teaching.

He indicated that he had reservations about the trial, which might not be useful to students who would then have to join elementary schools for boys after their third year.

“They would then be taught by male teachers and this might be uncomfortable for them as they were used to being taught by women,” he said.

However, Assistant Underse-cretary at the Education Department Saad Al-Fohaid said this will not be implemented in government schools. The admission of boys in private elementary girl schools is the first experiment of its kind in the Kingdom.