Sharjah: A few private schools in Sharjah are levying a Dh700 fee for interviewing new pupils who wish to enrol in the school for the next academic year.
Some parents complained to the Private Education Department at the Sharjah Educational Zone, saying that this is an additional burden despite the high fees charged by the school. They said the extra Dh700 fee for personal interviews is clear blackmail practicsd by some schools.
Hessa Al Khaja, Head of Private and Quality Education at Sharjah Educational Zone, said the school has been fined and stressed the zone’s rejection of such practices that are only meant to levy extra charges regardless of the means.
“Any school has the right to conduct personal interviews with new pupils before enrolling them in the school, but these interviews should be free,” she added.
Hessa called on parents to approach the Private Education Department at the Sharjah Educational Zone to file a complaint against schools violating the rules, to enable the department to prevent such practices.
“This is an illegal procedure but we cannot take any action against a school without a written complaint from parents,” she explained.
Hessa emphasised the need for private schools to abide by the school fees approved by the zone and the Ministry of Education and not to collect extra fees from parents.
She said a circular to this effect was issued to private schools in Sharjah, warning them against levying extra charges.
Hessa said the zone has already instructed administrations of private schools that follow the Ministry of Education’s curriculum and those following international curricula to collect Dh500 from pupils’ parents for booking a seat provided that it is calculated as part of the total tuition fees in accordance with article 52 of Federal Law 28 for 1999 regarding educational institutions.
She pointed out that some schools impose extra charges for activities, stressing that this is an illegal practice, and schools found doing this will be fined.
—Nawal Al Ramahi is an intern at Gulf News
