UAE | Education
Angry parents rap school in Sharjah over admissions draw
Parents claim foul play after children's names were excluded in draw for admissions
- By Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:01 February 13, 2010
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- Schools have devised various strategies to ensure a fair distribution of available seats in their kindergarten sections. One of them is the unpopular lottery system.
Sharjah: Angry parents have criticised Sharjah Indian High School after their children's names were allegedly excluded from the draw for kindergarten admissions.
Parents said the school played foul by not giving them a chance to enter the draw though they had registered their children's names for admissions for the new academic year in April and paid Dh25 for the forms.
The school did not respond despite several attempts made by Gulf News to contact the principal. The Indian school, which is one of the oldest and most populated schools in the UAE, announced that February 12 would be the date of the admissions draw after it received more than 2,000 applicants.
‘Different story'
"It was mentioned in the registration form that a draw would be held at 9am on February 12 and the names of those who won would be published on the school noticeboard. But when we reached the school today they told us a different story and said those who could not make it [on the] dot at nine would not be allowed to participate in the draw," said Altaf Mohammad, a disgruntled parent.
Shaikh Mohammad, another parent who was also excluded from the draw, said nowhere was it mentioned on the registration form that parents should be physically present at the draw.
"There were lots of parents who reached the school a little late by 9.30 or 10 and the school turned us away saying that we had not made it on time. My question is why did they not mention it in the application form. When we submitted the form, we were made to believe that our names were going for the draw," he said, adding that parents were stopped at the gate and refused entry by security.
According to parents, the school gave a new numbered coupon to parents who gathered on time, and the draw was conducted for coupon entries only. "I had waited hours to get the application form and register my child for admission, but when I reached the school at 9.30am, parents were arguing with the gatekeeper. They closed the gate at 9am and these parents were unaware of any coupons," said a parent.
Do you think this is a good system to grant admissions? What is a possible solution to accommodate the large number of students?
Comments (33)
|
Latest news
- Tracks to be laid on recycled material
- Golden Hour crucial to a patient's survival
- Opening show worthy of UAE
- Sun is shining on prospects for solar power
- Artists focus on craftsmanship
- World leaders committed to supporting civilians
- Schools open a new page in teaching English
- Special parking to help disabled tourists
- Helping hand surgeons have long sought
- Blind woman lights up corridors of power
- In Mind
- At times, I think of committing suicide
- Designer of a creative haven
- Fund to help Dubai taxi drivers' families
- New life-saving fleet of vehicles
Community Reports
-
Warming up to ‘Mobilise the Earth' theme
Dubai school dedicates a whole week to celebrating Earth Day with can-collection drives, sapling plantation and painting competition among others
-
Drivers using mobiles put others' lives at risk
Speeding is dangerous for the driver and other motorists
-
Supporting the needy with food supplies
Group of families engaged in serving isolated labour community hopes to motivate more people to help underprivileged and hungry
-
Leukaemia boy granted wish to meet footballer
Emirati meets hero Al Qahtani, Al Ain team
