ABU DHABI // The Pioneers International Private School is just a hop, skip and a jump from the Pearl Primary School, but otherwise the two are worlds apart.
At the Pearl academy, which sits on a generous plot of land near Al Wahda Mall, children exercise in the 25-metre swimming pool and practise in a spacious music room on African drums, Indonesian Gamelan instruments and a Yamaha Clavinova digital piano – amenities their parents pay up to Dh30,000 (US$8,200) per year for. Pioneers, on the other hand, is squeezed into a cramped villa on to which a few makeshift rooms have been added There is no pool – not even a gymnasium. Children play outside on shaded concrete. Their annual tuition fee ranges from Dh6,285 to Dh10,000.
Pioneers is one of 66 villa schools in Abu Dhabi being scrutinised by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, which is sending inspectors to villa schools with an eye toward improving conditions for pupils. Like its counterparts across the emirate, the school is run on a shoestring budget and lacks many amenities. There is no central air conditioning, so children strain to hear their teachers over the loud rumble of window units. There is no gymnasium or visible play equipment, and students must pack into claustrophobic rooms to attend classes.
The school would like to move to a bigger facility but the deputy director, Mr Sharaf al Hashemi, said it would need assistance from the Government to do so. Tuition fees are kept low because most parents of children who attend the school cannot afford to pay more.
At the end of the school day, children pour from Pioneers’ small classrooms into the villa’s stuffy hallway. Outside, teachers monitor children as they run about. It is 36°C and humid, and though some shade falls on the play area it is far too hot to be outdoors.
Nearby at Pisco International Filipino School, the scene is similar. A steep spiral staircase leads from the second floor. Children hide beneath the stairs while others come hurtling down them at the end of the day. Outside, children of all ages run about as they wait for their parents to collect them.
There are 26 classrooms at Pisco, but many are so small they accommodate only 16 children. The school has 12 bathrooms to serve 761 pupils. They are not the sort of facility normally seen in a school, with multiple stalls. Most are single-occupancy rooms, just as they would be in a private home.
Pisco, which opened its doors in 1995, is fortunate: it will be moving to a better facility soon. The school was recently sold and the new owner has plans to raise standards.
“We really need to move from here,” said Geronimo Obaob, Pisco’s principal. “If you would really like to provide quality education that conforms with high standards you have to have the facilities.”
Mr Obaob added that his school has everything – but that everything, in this case, is too small.
“We do have a library,” he said, “but we can only accommodate 20 pupils at a time.”
For parents with children at Pioneers and Pisco, options are limited.
“Most of the Filipino expats can only pay the average amount,” said Daniel Sistona, the principal of Pioneers.
“If it’s more than Dh10,000 there is going to be a problem. Regardless of your nationality or religion all children have the right to learn.”
In addition, many parents want their children to study in a Filipino school so that the transition to a new school will be smoother when they eventually return home.
The side streets around Al Wahda Mall are home to a number of villa schools. Driving through the neighbourhood, they could easily be mistaken for big old houses, hidden by tall gates on the road.
The Little Flower Private School, which opened in 1986, caters for the Indian community. The school is home to more than 500 children, and has a waiting list in the hundreds.
Like Pioneers and Pisco there is no gymnasium. There are 32 classrooms, but many are tiny: the French session feels packed with only a half-dozen children inside.
There is no canteen at Little Flowers and pupils, who attend school from 7.30am to 1.30pm, must bring their own lunch. According to the principal, the school cannot possibly afford the land or construction costs to build a larger facility without Government help.
Kathryn Lewis