Dubai: A 15-year-old student left deformed because of an injury and had to miss school for four years is being disallowed by authorities to re-enrol in Dubai schools, his father complained.
The wheelchair-bound Indian boy was refused admission on the grounds that he was too old to be in grade five, his father, Mohammad Nasrul Haque Ansari, told Gulf News.
Ansari, who works in Dubai and has to commute every day for hours, says for the last two years he has been unable to move his family back to Dubai from Al Ain because schools in Dubai won’t accept his son’s case without an approval from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
“My son was diagnosed with a genetic disease that caused several fractures in his body and a deformity in his right femur. He underwent seven surgeries and treatment between 2008 and 2012 and was bedridden for a while. He could not go to school, and as a result, he fell four years behind his peers,” the father of three told Gulf News.
His son, Mohammad Nauroz Ansari, was given a special permission by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), allowing him to continue his education in a school in Al Ain, he added.
“At that time, my company transferred me to Al Ain, but now for the last two years, I have been working in Dubai and trying to get my family back here. My son was a student in Dubai, but several schools told me it won’t be possible for him to get admitted because of the KHDA rules and also because he is on a wheelchair.”
In a recent attempt, Ansari said he contacted a person with the KHDA this month and received an email saying: “The age is a barrier. Neither the KHDA system nor the schools would accept admission to grade five of a 15-year-old student. As this stage, enrolment in grade 8/year 9 is possible with school approval but again the board exams will be a problem.”
The helpless father said his son is a very bright student and he should not be denied his right to education, especially since that he passed the board exams in Winchester School for grade 5, Sabari Indian School for grade 6 and other Dubai schools.
“My son’s deformity is in right femur, so his right leg is 6cm shorter. He is unable to walk and stand freely until he completes his final surgery, which we hope would help him walk again, but other than that, he is very intelligent and eager to study. He wants to become a doctor but we are now very hopeless,” he said.
Ansari explained the struggle of leaving his family in Al Ain and driving back and forth to Dubai for work. “Sometimes an emergency breaks, and I can’t be there to help.”
Gulf News contacted the KHDA to seek help for Ansari’s case, and in a statement, Amal Belhasa, chief of Compliance and Resolution Commission at the KHDA, said: “We work together with schools and parents in Dubai to enable children with special education needs to have access to quality education. Our team has already met the family to assess their needs and support them in their efforts to find a solution.”
Following the statement, Ansari said he is waiting for the final decision to be issued. “Our only request is to give him admission in Dubai. We are under so much pressure.”
