Mad rush for school admissions driving parents round the bend

Abu Dhabi: Parents in the capital are at their wits end trying to find admission for their wards in the face of seat crunch across schools.

Each year, come admission time, it’s the same old scenario.

And even though much has been said and debated regarding acute shortage of school seats in the capital, parents say nothing much has changed this year too.

With many private schools dealing with a huge waiting list, many students are still sitting on the fence wondering whether they would get into school or not.

“My son is six-years-old, and we still have not found a school for him in Abu Dhabi. He is in the waiting list in two British schools,” said Nick Martin, a western expat in Abu Dhabi.

Martin who has recently moved to Abu Dhabi said he has not been able to bring his family to the UAE because of uncertainty regarding his child’s admission.

“I don’t know whether there is a point in waiting any longer because the schools have already started,” said the offshore engineer.

Worried parents

Martin is just one among the many worried parents who have to run helter-skelter to secure admission for their children in the seat-crunched Abu Dhabi schools.

Another parent, Hareesh Nair, an Indian expat said his child is continuing in a CBSE school in Abu Dhabi because he could not get into an American school where he had applied for grade 1.

‘I am not happy with the Indian curriculum school my daughter is attending in Musaffah. But unfortunately she will have to continue because she did not get through this September,” said Nair.

And even if parents manage to win the rat race for admission for their wards, not all are happy with the schools their kids have gotten in. Many had to settle for schools that were not their natural choice.

“We live in Khalifa City and our natural choice was Al Raha International School or Choueifat International School. But our son did not get through in both the schools,” said Yasmeen Rashid, a Pakistani mother. She said her son has to commute to the city centre daily because he is enrolled in an American school located near Najda street.

Without sufficient investment in the private sector, the seat scarcity is expected to get worse in the capital city that needs to bring on board an additional 70,000 seats in the next seven years. The demand is expected to even go higher with the exponential growth targeted by the emirate.

According to ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council), by 2020, private schools are expected to accommodate about 283,000 pupils.

Adec statistics shows about 62 per cent of pupils in Abu Dhabi attend 185 private schools and this number is growing by five to seven per cent each year.

“In the 2013-2014 academic year, these schools enrolled more than 215,000 pupils, with 74 per cent of them in schools with annual fees lower than Dh20,000,” Hamad Al Daheri, executive director for private schools and quality assurance at ADEC said in an investors forum in Abu Dhabi recently.

Though 11 new schools opened for the 2014-2015 academic year offering about 14,500 new seats in Abu Dhabi, the seat crunch continues to hit parents.

For instance, the K-12 International Baccalaureate Al Raha International school had 700 applications for 88 kindergarten seats. The GEMS-run Cambridge International Schools is also running on full capacity despite the school doubling the capacity last year.

Clive Pierrepont, director of communications at Taleem that run Al Raha said shortage of seats in Abu Dhabi is an issue of concern. The school’s plan to open a new facility in Abu Dhabi is delayed.

“In Dubai, 11 schools have opened this year, easing the pressure on parents. Taaleem has opened a new facility each year for the last four years, with the Dubai Foundation opening this September near the Springs Town Centre, feeding into a new Yr 1-12 British School in Jumeirah Park opening in September 2015.”

“In line with the 2020 Vision, we will continue to build schools to serve the expected population growth in the UAE, and offer choice for parents,” Pierrepont added.

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