DUBAI — The battle lines have been drawn and if nothing is done to dissipate the situation it seems that the parents and the management of GEMS, the largest education provider in the country, are set on a collision course.
This became more or less a certainty after Khaleej Times quoted Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Compliance Commission (RCC) at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) as saying that “No increase in school fees is effective and payable unless the school receives written approval from the KHDA.”
And the KHDA also reiterated that Taaleem is the only education provider in Dubai that was granted permission by the Ministry of Education (MoE) for a fee restructuring for two of its schools as per an exemption clause in the decree governing fee increases.
This statement has further fuelled the ire of parents of school children who were asked to cough up 10-15 per cent more in school fees following a circular issued by GEMS on May 12.
“Schools have turned themselves into money minting machines. As it is we are struggling to keep up with the current living scenario, with so many parents losing jobs, facing pay cuts let alone increments; it’s a hard but true fact that in these once pious educational institutions, there is no room for sentiments of students or parents or teachers for that matter!,” said Beena, an aggrieved parent in a letter to Khaleej Times.
Pollin Ford, another parent shored up Beena’s sentiments with compelling logic saying, “As per the inspection report the educational institutions who have got an ‘excellent’ rating can only go for the 15 per cent increase in school fees, but in GEMS Group the schools which have received only a ‘satisfactory’ mandate have also hiked their fees by 15 per cent, when they can only increase it by 7 per cent. Where is the justification?”
However no justification is enough for Shyamsri whose child attends Grade 4 in a GEMS school.
“I don’t mind the fee hike, since my organisation takes care of the educational expenses, but what I am worried about is that this does not necessarily translate into better education for the child. There are hardly any studies in the first term, besides which the teachers are callous and rude.
Despite the complaints, hardly anything has been done and if the school management does not do anything about it I would be forced to look at other alternatives.”
“This is an eye opener for lot of parents who just pay school fees on the basis of a circular which is handed over to our children. Now we will definitely ask for a written approval from the school on the pay hike,” added Tejas, another parent.
For more reactions to the hike in school fee log on to khaleejtimes.com