Unnecessary fees
Fee hikes proportional with services provided is justifiable and acceptable, but there is always room to question whether those facilities really are necessary for the school. These questions are important to raise in the schools where the majority of students are coming from families of middle to lower income group.
More often than not those schools play smoke and mirrors by pushing to get their financial objectives done through injustified fee hikes irrespective of any value proposition.
From Mr Salim Panthodi
Abu Dhabi
Not up to par
My daughter is studying at a private school in Dubai. Forget about the fee increase, it is the quality of the education that matters. Sadly, whichever school I have put my daughter in, I find that the quality is in question.
I had written in 2011 to my daughter’s school while she was studying there. The same complaints remain. The schools are often not only overloaded, but they also tend to overload the parents. True, the students travel by air conditioned buses and study in classrooms with air conditioning, but the general quality of education and the commitment of the teachers is not up to a par.
From Mr Siddique
UAE
Money coming into play
Unlike most other countries, the UAE or for that matter the GCC countries have a unique situation wherein private schools are the only option for expatriate students, which are usually run by entrepreneurs with a business objective as opposed to schools run by the state.
Schools that are being run and managed as a business enterprise with a motive of making a profit rather than supporting a child’s right to seek education is a sad reality. It creates school fees for expatriate children that go up exorbitantly and, paradoxically, the school transportation charges often outpace the education fee.
Still, it is painful to see the safety of young children being compromised as it is left in the hands of untrained bus attendants and drivers. It is a misconception that the quality of education would always necessarily go with the fee being paid. Providing education should be treated as a noble engagement that is entrusted to the right people with the right sense of commitment and attitude. The moment money becomes a primary factor for owners of private schools, then the quality takes a beating because they pay low salaries to teachers, which compromises the teaching standards.
From Mr V. I. Mohammad Sageer
UAE
A service suggestion
I think the schools are often too busy increasing school fees without investing in safety. A simple barcode on a child’s identification card similar to something used for couriering parcels could be implemented for better safety.. This way parents could know the location of their children. I have given this idea many a times, but I have not heard a response.
From Mr Tariq Bin Asif
Dubai
Not justified
We as parents of school-going children absorb the rise in school fees and face the compromise in our lifestyle so as to ensure that our children get a better education and a quality school environment with facilities. However, the services provided by school administrations hardly justify our efforts.
No school administration will be willing to compromise on school fees or any associated charges, but when it comes to the safety of the children, we seriously doubt what they value more: the money or the child.
The tragedy of Nizha Ala could only be heard with shock by us parents. This incident questions the assurances the schools provide us regarding their standards, procedures and safety measures they claim to follow to the word.
I suggest the schools adopt a procedure where they call the parents to follow up on an absent child. How are we to trust a school’s safety assurances they claim to be providing? We need answers and we need solutions.
From Ms Tina Albert
UAE
Invest in safety
School bus transport companies and schools stress the requirement for increasing their profit by adding more fees, but they are not concentrating on safety and the implementation of effective safety systems in their buses. School management and transport companies should be imposed with heavy punishments and heavy fines, which should be a lesson to stop incidents like what has happened to Ala. I beg all the school managements and school transport companies to please save the valuable lives of our children.
From Mr Sadiq
Dubai
Where is the money?
Schools hike the bus fees stating that additional safety measures have been implemented, but where? This is happening with almost all the schools. This case should be seriously viewed and strict measures should be taken so no schools escape penalty for blatant negligence.
From Mr Joby John
UAE
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