Dubai: Only 52 schools in Dubai accept applications from children with special educational needs (SEN), a scathing report by an online educational consultancy revealed. This, despite the law guaranteeing equal opportunities to such children.
Worse, as James Mullan, co-founder of Whichschooladvisor.com which recently published the report told XPRESS: “Many schools appear deeply reluctant to promote the fact, possibly fearing they will gain a reputation as a ‘special school’, or as one school principal mentioned, “literally opening the floodgates to all those who can’t currently find a place”.
He said the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) remains adamant that UAE Federal Law 29 (2006) which guarantees a person with special needs ‘access to equal opportunities of education within all educational institutions’ and schools are only permitted to refuse admission to a child with SEN if they are at capacity. “But speak to any parent or centre running school preparation programmes and they will tell you of the continued frustration in trying to place a child with special educational needs into a mainstream school.”
Extra cost
The report has also established that parents with SEN kids spend a good 60 per cent more in standard tuition and schooling costs. With only 15 per cent of all parents receiving help from their companies to pay school fees, these additional costs weigh heavily on parents with special children.
The report says 42 per cent of schools in Dubai currently offer places to children with special educational needs. The vast majority of these are British curriculum (24 schools) with American schools, a distant second. “While all SEN professionals remain adamant that disclosure is the only viable option for parents if they ever hope to understand how a school plans to provide for their child, many still candidly admit that disclosure can dramatically reduce the chance of being offered a place, despite the law.” Mullan said: “WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has heard reports that some less than scrupulous schools are manipulating the situation further.
“Knowing many parents just appreciate securing any place, they’re unlikely to disclose their child’s condition. The school then blithely offers places knowing they have little or no SEN support on offer. However, by the time parents disclose their child’s condition and begin discussions on support, they’ve paid the non-refundable deposit and are unlikely to look elsewhere. For many parents, the admission exercise is both costly and frustrating. One parent of a child diagnosed with ADHD said in 2014 he’d paid over Dh9,000 in registration fees and yet had not secured a place for his child.”
Another issue discussed with the director of a well-known diagnostic and treatment centre, who wished to remain anonymous, was that many high ranking schools (‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’) often blurred their classification of just what special educational needs actually are. “Some schools tell us they can’t accept any more children with SEN as they have over 30 per cent SEN enrolment already. When we question the figures, we discover they’re lumping mild learning difficulties like dyslexia or dyscalculia into the mix. Some are even adding their EAL (English as an Additional Language) students to significantly bulk up the figures.”
The report also highlights the lack of legal guidelines on shadow teachers. “The job of a shadow or LSA is to join the child in class and assist in behaviour control, task work and lend support in personal care and other areas.
Presently there are no legal guidelines for how a shadow is expected to perform this work, nor regulation of hours, qualifications or what the position entails. As with everything here, you get what you pay for and shadows are no different.
“Predominantly female, they range from household maids and mothers seeking part-time work which fits around the school holidays to highly qualified ex-teachers. Pay varies, and although the norm seems to be around Dh50 per hour, some have been known to ask up to Dh20,000 per month.”
Mullan said many schools told him shadows can create almost as many issues as they solve. “Many cash-strapped parents find the cheapest possible option; meaning training and experience are minimal. Although schools maintain control of the shadows’ workload and commitments, the financial burden is the parent’s responsibility; this not always makes for the easiest working relationships, as school and parents both issue daily demands,” the report noted.
KHDA ratings
It said some ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools remain reluctant to admit SEN students for fear of damaging KHDA ratings. According to Mullan, the primary issue remains that although KHDA has allowed for differentiation of curriculum, it has still not fully approved report card differentiation. “This means although children who have been working to an individual education plan (IEP) and achieved the goals set, they’re still judged and rated against standard basic curriculum without a differentiated report card. The poor results when collated can then help bring down the overall KHDA school ranking.”
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