Angry parents rap school in Sharjah over admissions draw

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?