The trickle of Indian workers sending away their families from Saudi Arabia is giving rise to fears that it could turn into a tide in the near future. No official figures are available on how many non-resident Indians are returning home, neither in India nor in Saudi Arabia. But, several schools in Hyderabad have reported sudden spurt in the numbers of admissions of the wards of Gulf NRIs, who have come back from Saudi in the last few weeks.

M A Lateef, Chairman, MS Group of Schools, said so far over 200 students, mostly girls, who have returned from Saudi, have been given admission. "Parents are saying that living in Saudi Arabia with families is becoming increasingly expensive, so many of them are sending them to India," Lateef said.

Authorities of many other schools concur with Lateef. They said this year there is a marked spurt in admissions of Gulf NRI children, especially from Saudi Arabia.

The head of another chain of schools, Springfield, reported admission of over 150 Gulf NRI children. Humaira Hyder believes that the admissions would continue for a few more weeks. "In fact, we are expecting more students. The parents are in disarray. They say they have little or no savings. Getting education is a priority which cannot be put off," Hyder said.

Mohammad Ziauddin Nayyar, a social activist who is associated with a number of schools in the city, said, "What is going on is forced separation of families which will have a negative impact on the social and economic fabric."

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