Dubai: A private school in Dubai did not allow a four-year-old student to attend classes after her unemployed mother failed to pay her school fees.
Shalini Joseph, mother of the KG-1 student told Gulf News she was appalled to get a call from Winchester school authorities on Monday morning asking her to come and take her daughter Sanan back home.
"They called me around 11am and said that I should take her home as she will not be allowed to attend classes until I pay. When I said I do not drive, they informed [me] that Sanan is out of her class and will be sent home [on] the school bus," she said.
Little Sanan returned home and told her mother "an aunty" took her out of the classroom when all her friends were still inside, and she did not have any place to sit. "I felt so bad because she is too small to understand what it means and why they did it. She was upset because she had no place to sit. When she asked me, I did not have any answers for her," said the irate mother.
Shalini explained she was unable to pay the fees because she lost her job and her husband's salary is hardly enough to pay their rent.
"I met the principal two weeks ago and explained my financial plight. I also promised that as soon as I land in my new job in April, I will settle the pending dues, which amounts to Dh2,200," said Shalini.
When contacted, an official from the school said they followed procedures such as sending gentle reminders.
"It was not done on a whim. There was clear correspondence that include SMS and warning letters between the school and the parent making it clear that if at least part of the overdue is not settled before March 22, action will be taken," said the school official.
The mother said she used up her credit card to pay Dh6,000 as the examination fee for her elder child who is studying at the same school, and hence did not have enough to pay Sanan's term fees. She said she borrowed from her friends on Tuesday and paid some of the pending amount so her daughter is back at school.
DisputeWhat the law says: The private education bylaw, article (52) states that schools can temporarily suspend a student but only after issuing three warnings to parents. In this case, Shalini insists that she got only one letter from the school and she ignored it because she had already spoken to the principal and requested an exemption.
Is the school's action justified? Did anything similar happen to you? Tell us about it at letter2editor@gulfnews.com
Your comments
Unfortunately times are tough and many schools are losing children in big amounts and have many, many parents that cannot make the tuition payments. I work in a school and we are facing this problem as well. People must remember that we are private school and have no funding or handouts. We rely solely upon the tuition money. If we do not receive it we cannot pay salaries to our teachers, for our buses and drivers, for our activities or for anything else. It's unfortunate, but sometimes, especially in these particular times has to be done to ensure that the school will pull through this. I would add that a child of four years old does not need to go to school. It is not a necessity and a mother is quite capable of teaching her child the basics considering she is out of work and at home at the moment. I think it was the mother's fault for putting her daughter in this situation, though I am outraged that the school did not handle it professionally at all! They should have never removed her from her class and instead should have insisted that the mother stop sending her or stop sending transportation to pick her up.
Elizabeth
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 14:23
Unpaid tuition fees can be cleared but the emotional harm that the school did to a little girl can never be paid,she will carry heartaches,insecurities and any negative feelings according to what she felt in this unfair situation.
Regina M. Villona
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 14:22
Shame on the school, Shame on sunny! how would you feel if this was your baby?
Abdul Rahman
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 14:21
Terrible. I think the schools should be more considerate bearing the fact the mother has promised that she will be paying in April which is only five days away. Moreover, how the young girl will cope with it? what if it was the child of school admisitration staff, would it have treated the same way?
Zohair Vazir
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 14:16
Teaching was considered to be a "noble" profession, but not anymore. School may have followed the "correct" way, legally, as they claim. But the bigger question is why the child should suffer such humiliation? that so when the situation was already explained to them. Someone wrote above that whenever schools want something they ask for cooperation, then why not cooperate for a better cause? Shameless act by the school and being a father I cannot really imagine what would be the state of mind of the little girl.
Gurmeet Singh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 14:15
Education, fees, etc. is secondry. First stands humanity. how can even the School management think of pulling a poor little girl from her classroom when her friends were inside.
Personally i am very much moved reading this event.
Ratnadeep J
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 13:24
When parents fail to pay fees for a reason, schools rigidly send the children back. However, when schools demand a hike in fees, the parents are losers again! I have not heard the word "quality in education" for a long time in the media, because the only news regarding schools are related to its expenses.
Jaideep Khemani
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 13:23
Why can't it wait for the next day? They can at least inform the parents that we wouldn't allow your child in school unless fees are paid. This way, trauma for this child will be avoidable.
From A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 13:22
Couldn't they "at least" wait until the end of the day?! Do they understand what they've done to the child?
From A Reader
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 13:22
There are two sides to a coin. Education is a business nowadays and no one cares. The parents should know their financial situation and take the necessary course of action. The victim is the little child who is caught between the school and the parents. A little consideration would have done a lot of good for the child. I would say the treatment of the child by the school authorities is most unfortunate. Childrens safety is a school's primary responsibility.
Sam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 13:22
I was just reading all the comments here and think that it is easy for each one to give their opinions, but I agree with one opinion that in these times we should all come together and help one another! If you have why not share than to give your opinions.
Marina
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:12
My heart goes out to the little girl who had no clue what was happening. The least the school authorities could have done was allow the child to attend class for the day but simultaneously informed the parents not to send the child next day for non payment of fees. On the other hand, a special grievance cell can be set up for parents with similar sitautions which allows them a grace period.
Vandana Dsouza
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:06
It's really a shame ... for Dh2,000 they are doing that .. the school will close if they do not pay this Dh2000? Don't they have mercy? Sending a 4 year old girl home for 2000 dirhams, shame on you and i will really take out my children from that school. Take my word its the last year for my children in this school.
Saif
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:04
In no way the child is responsible for the payment of his/her fees. How can he/she be punished for it. There are many other ways to solve the issue of non payment of fees with the parents. The school should apologise to little girl.
Ritu Mehta
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:00
In such cases I think the best thing to do is the school should have asked the parents for a meeting and discuss the matter in detail before taking any action considering the child is a minor and someone's future is at stake. Schools need to have some social responsibility as well and I feel they can always do better than picking up a child from middle of a session and throwing her out.
Gopi Haridas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:51
The school has every right not to allow the student to attend the class after issuing warnings to parents. But, there is no justification for throwing a small kid out of the class all of a sudden. Rather, they could've asked the driver of the bus not to pick up the student from next day onwards. What is going to happen if the child sat in the class for that day? Does the school suffer any loss due to that?
Unnikrishnan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:33
This is case of interest for both the parties. Schools must not behave like any other commercial enerprise but look into financial issues in holistic manner. At the same time schools have to survive financially.
Manzur Serniabat
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:22
The schools action is definitely not justified especialy when they kicked the student out of the room forcing her to standup in the sun for hours. The school management have no right to give this kind of punishment to the pupil for not paying the fee. As a procedure they could have asked the mother not to send her child to the school until mater is sorted out
Waseem
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:17
Just Ridiculous! where will the girl go now? Imagine a mother unemployed who cant support her children. dont they have some mercy? Please dont do this and mess up childrens lives for the sake of education. i was shocked after reading the above article and i feel that its just insane to do such a thing. May i request the school authorities to streamline some process with regards to the fee structure?
Mathew litty
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:06
I feel bad the way they(school) treated the child and her parent in this time of crisis. At least they should be more considerate and instead let the child finish her class during that day and not put her in an embarassing situation in front of her classmates. My suggestion, instead of sending the student back home for not paying the outstanding dues, why not let her stay in the school and enjoy as other classmates are benefitting or gaining of. Hold her grades and other credentials as long as they want but let her continue to learn inside the school. Anyway, her parent had promised to pay the balance once she landed her new job.
Kwatog
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:05
The school has done a mistake. The child is mistreated in front of other children. This incident would have affected this little girl psychologically. The mother also never intended to cheat the management, how can they insult the child? I hope the UAE education authorities to take a strong action against the school's management.
Ravi Shankar
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:03
It is totally wrong what they did to that little girl. they could let her in the classroom and give her a letter to take back to her mother. The school principal should take into account financial problems faced by the mother especially when she made payments for the other child.
Othman Munye Abdo
Manchester,UK
Posted: March 25, 2009, 10:57
I strongly condemn what the school did to the little girl, even if the fees were not paid this is not a way to treat and discriminate a 4year old child as it might leave a bad memory with the child for long life because the initial years memories carry long life impact! the parents should have been contacted not the poor child being punished like that! Though it's not a charity school but the school should follow the basic ethics n follow the ministry's rule.
Sophy
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 10:49
My two children are studying in the same school; The Winchester School, I paid their tuition fees sometimes 1 1/2 months for two month fees. I got a reminder but due to hectic schedules I hardly go to school and just pay the fees. Luckily, all are fine and nothing happened like that. I felt very bad for Shalini and hope the school authorities will extend a special considerations to her. I believe the school is well mannered and highly professional.
Norma R.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 10:43
I think it is outrageous that a 4 year old has to pay Dh2,000 as fees/ month. Taking into account the current scenario the school should not have been so harsh and given at least a month's grace. At the most they should not have pulled out a 4 year old in the middle of class.
Bessy Babu
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 10:38
Heart breaking news. This cannot be justified in any sense. It can be said that literally the action is taken against a child. School could have allowed the child to attend the class for that day, and just confirmed with the parent not to send her child from next day onwards untill dues are settled. This way they can stick to their laws, without mentally upseting the child.
Jacqueline S Joseph
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:43
The plight of the mother has made out of her situation is not valid. But I know that what the school did was not right in sending the girl back home that day. It's completely wrong. But the mother I guess doesn't have any right to appeal because in the first place, she is not able to pay the school fees. Then why does she need to send her child to school? The monther is just making an issue!
William Sali
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:37
I can undrestand the parents' plight but private schools are not charitable institutions. Most private schools are bleeding red and are unable to meet their operating costs. There are new regualtions that schools need to comply with. Where do parents think schools will get this money from?
Syed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:36
After reading this article tears filled my eyes for the little innocent girl who doesn't know anythng and is being treated like that. As the law says three warning letters should be issued by the school authority. So, they must have followed the procedure after taking this action.
Soumya Ranjan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:16
Parents should also be aware of their responsibilities and the school procedures regarding fees. A verbal agreement has nothing to do with it, meaning legally only black and white agreement can be recognised.
From A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:15
Sending a KG student back home due to any reason is unjustified as it shows the school is focussing only on monetory benefits rather than considering education as a service too. Considering the financial situation of the parents , decision taken by the school authorities is too hard and it shouldn't be repeated. More over the sibling of KG child is in the same school so there is no way to justify the school's action.
Rajesh R.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:12
It saddens to read such articles. The only thing that is needed today is a lot of co-operation and understanding from each other. It's a bad phase that the world is suffering from. At least it should have not been brought out on a small 4 year old. Children are sensitive, what impact it could leave on her senses and bearing that in mind the responsible people should have behaved or acted a bit more maturely. The mother is not denying the payment, she is acknowledging it.
Meeta Dutta
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:10
School is not justified in their action. They should have followed the law and should have at least let the innocent child attend the school full day instead of forcing her out of the class. Authorities must take action against the school administration.
Qaisar Emam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:08
If you cannot afford an expensive school, it's better to send children to a school with a resonable/affordable school fee.
Shyama Menon
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:08
It is really sad a small child has to be punished if the parents can't pay the school fees. Whatever the education law says, the reality is if the mother can't afford the education then let the child sit at home till she is able to pay the school fees. It is better for the child to be at home for some time instead of being guilty and punished in front of her friends.
Yasir
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:06
This is really ridiculous. Every time a school needs some funds, they expect cooperation and support from the parents. But when a parent needs tge support, these school authorities are blind.
Educational Institutions should keep some ethics; it should not be as commercialised as they are now.
Martin Mathew
Doha,Qatar
Posted: March 25, 2009, 09:06
The school erred in the manner in which they treated the young child. The blame rests entirely with the parents for putting their child in this situation. If the school has indeed followed the rules, the parents have no right to keep sponging off the school. Pay up or move on.
Benedict Ernest
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:51
It is so sad for that school and the principal who did this to the young girl. At least they should understand the parent has another child who is still a student in the school. They could have given her at least until the time she had reqested to pay her bills. It is very sad and the law MUST be in action on the school. Let parents not keep quiet when they are being mistreated.
From A Reader
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:46
See, there are lot of issues to the school management regarding the salary of staff. Still we are getting our salary regularly. But when some parents per division delay the fees, definitely it will delay the payment. As per ministry management cannot delay the payment. In this situation what the school will do?
Khalifullah
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:43
The school could have informed the parents beforehand that she would not be allowed into the classroom from March 24. By expelling a little child in the middle of session like this, the school clearly demonstrated that they do not understand child psychology.
Praveen
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:43
The school authorities should have responsibility to drop the child back home because they have picked her from the house.
Considering she is such a young child, they should not have done it, because the child will roam around the school and may go outside. Who will be responsible and who will be loosing? They should send a letter mentioning, ?Don't send the child without pending dues?.
Thanka
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:41
I think schools should have a financial aid scheme like tuition fee deferment. Plus the authorities should take measures to avoid children from being barred from school.
Mohammad Adel Mirza
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:40
I am shocked and my heart is actually broken into pieces. Being a father of adaughter I condemn this horrible act and urge the authorities to take some strict action against the school.
If you put yourself in her shoes then you will definitely realise how bad and disregarded this lovely child would have felt.
Kids are gift of GOD and school is the place where parents send their children to learn and educate them in the proper manners. If the school does this kind of awful act then they should not be listed under the educational institute. The institute where thousands of children are studying and due to recent recession cyclone which is revolving around the entire world, they could have chosen some other way to tackle this issue. I am not in a favor of free education but to be very honest there must be some sort of proper and vindicated decision that this schools should have taken.
May God Bless us all and our family.
Regards, Atif M Khan
Atif Khan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:39
The school's action is not correct. They should have given parents more time to settle the dues.
Qasim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:38
We came to know of this issue because the mother reported it to Gulf News. There might be so many such cases that may not be come to light. It is unethical on the part of the school managemet to throw the child out of the class.
Somasunder S. P.
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:38
No not justified at all. Since the parent had spoken to the school officials, they could have been more considerate. I know other schools which also do this. The authorities should really look into this matter, as this does not leave a good impression on the child's classmates.
Sadia
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:38
The response of the school is not justified when the parent had already explained the situation and paid the fee of the elder child. Where has our humanity gone? In the current global economic situation, a little consideration is not too much to ask for.
Anney T
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:37
This is totally unfair, the little one doesn't understand about the global economic crisis and all. And the schools in Dubai are not charging a nominal fee for the pupils. Even 25 per cent of the students not paying their fees due to genuine reason, still the school can manage to run without collecting their fees or they can give some time to pay their pending fees later on. This is totally unfair.
Raman
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:33
This is brutal, how can an educational institute do something like this. The school should keep a funds equivalent to a certain amount of revenue (from their profits) to help such cases. Such actions should not leave a poor innocent child uneducated.
Avnish Gupta
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:30
School's action are not justified, educational institutes must have taken care. Educate with humanityand kindness.
Boban
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:27
I feel that what the school did is correct on its part and I can understand the situation going on in the market.
Secondly, I truly advise everyone to make a saving of 15-30 per cent every month for such unforeseen incidents where we need not have to depend on others for our living. We are respsnsible for our deeds so why blame others for their procedures?
Prashant M
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:26
I know people who stopped sending their children to school as they did not have money to pay tuition fees. Failing to pay school fees would lead to this situation for sure. But considering the humanitarian aspect and social responsibility of schools I cannot justify it.
Jose
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 25, 2009, 08:08
