RIYADH: Graduates of an English teaching program that was advertised by a Saudi university as accredited by the authorities but, in fact, was not, on Monday filed another lawsuit against the university for failing to comply with a 2006 court ruling ordering it to return the students their fees.

It has been three years now since Riyadh’s Court of Grievances issued its verdict against Riyadh’s Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in a case filed by the students.

“We now have no other choice but to go back to the same court,” said Sattam Saleh Al-Awad, spokesperson for the graduates. “Three budgets have already been passed and the order remains unfulfilled,” he added.

“We are optimistic this time the court will uphold our rights and force the university to carry out the order,” said Al-Awad, adding that their case has also been noticed by several public and private institutions, including the Ministry of Interior and the Human Rights Commission.

“We are submitting our complaint personally this time,” he said, adding that the graduates would not be hiring a lawyer to represent them in court.

In statements to the media, Sulaiman Abalkhail, the rector of Imam University, promised the 110 graduates that their cash would be returned as soon as possible.

The rector met the students at his office and assured them that the university had fully accepted the court ruling ordering the university to reimburse each student SR25,000.

“We are now in November 2009. The rector is simply reluctant to carry out the court order,” said Al-Awad.

The graduates’ plight began in 2001 when Al-Faisal Academy announced a two-year academic program to qualify students as elementary English teachers. The program was affiliated with and sponsored by Imam University. The program claimed it was accredited by the Ministry of Education and accepted by the Ministry of Civil Service, the body that hands out teaching jobs.

The degree certificates handed to the students carried the seals of the university and Al-Faisal Academy.

It was only after their graduation that the students learned that the program was not recognized. The two-year program was executed by the Al-Faisal Academy on the premises of the Imam University in four of the Kingdom’s regions: Qassim, Riyadh, Madinah and Al-Ahsa.

The university’s reluctance to obey the court order led the students to file a complaint with the Ministry of Interior. The complaint was then passed to the Ministry of Higher Education, which referred the case back to the university.