UAE | Education
School's humane gesture saves child's education
With a heavy heart, B.J. (name withheld on request) trudged to Our Own High School, Al Warqa'a, to collect his son's transfer certificate: He had been unable to pay the tuition fees for three consecutive months.
- By Rabab Khan, Community Journalist
- Published: 23:12 September 5, 2008
Dubai: With a heavy heart, B.J. (name withheld on request) trudged to Our Own High School, Al Warqa'a, to collect his son's transfer certificate: He had been unable to pay the tuition fees for three consecutive months.
He said: "I failed to pay three instalments of the fee on time, so I had no choice but to apply for a transfer certificate for my child."
A UAE resident for over a decade, B.J, originally from India, had been working in the accounts section of a private firm.
Steeped in debt to the tune of Dh150,000, he was paying a heavy price for being a Good Samaritan. He had borrowed the amount to help close friends and family members travel to the Gulf to search for jobs.
He said: "I paid out of my own pocket for my friends, neighbours and cousins."
Treating everyone's problems as his own, he didn't realise the financial burden he was bringing upon himself. He still has to be paid back for his loans. Distressed that his his 12-year-old son would have to pay the price for his generosity, B.J. decided to make one final appeal to the class teacher.
He told Mini Alexander, the teacher, he was in a very difficult situation right now and had to somehow clear his debt.
He expected to receive a curt refusal but was urged by the teacher to raise the matter with principal J.T. Mathai.
Mathai gave B.J. a patient hearing and gave him the flexibility to pay the fees when his lot improved. Mathai told Gulf News "it wasn't sensible for him [B.J.] to take his child back to India."
Expecting to be shown the door, B.J. was stunned and "tears of joy" streamed down his face. He said: "The principal was very nice. I was speechless."
Mathai said: "We understand that people might have financial difficulties. The school is willing to offer concessions if the parents apply at the beginning of the year. This concession is different from the regular scholarship."
Why do you think such acts are becoming rare nowadays? Do you know of any other school which assists parents with financial problems?
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