Dubai: Parents of children taking coaching classes at a Knowledge Village-based tutorial have accused it of abruptly shutting done without proper communication or refund of the advance fees it collected from them.
The mother of a Year 4 boy, taking English coaching at the tutorial, said it remained shut since the second week of March, with a notice on its doors simply stating that it was “looking at reopening at the earliest opportunity” and apologising for “any inconvenience caused”.
Claiming that the tutorial took fees upfront from the parents, she said, “I had paid a two-year fee at a discounted annual package rate of Dh6,500 one year ago. But now my child has been left to fend for himself and the money I paid for the remaining year has gone.”
She said, “We are in a state of limbo as we do not know how to get our money back. Moreover, our children are badly affected as the tuitions were abruptly stopped just when their exams were round the corner.”
Another parent, who claimed she has paid over Dh30,000 for her two children for English and Math tuitions, said, “I don’t know what is going on. Just shutting shop and saying sorry won’t do. The year-long classes did not run their full course and I want my money back.”
She said, “I feel so let down by the centre. I enrolled my children here as it was operating in Dubai for the past 10 years and had earned a good reputation. I could not have imagined that something like this would happen.”
The parents claimed the centre’s head had earlier informed them that it would be shifting to a new location but subsequently decided to stay on in the same place until the end of June.
“We received an email on April 18 which conveyed this decision to us. The centre’s head went to great lengths to explain how it had been a particularly difficult year for the business and that he was actively working to resolve the matter on a daily basis,” said one parent.
“We were promised an update the following weekend, but we have not heard from the centre since,” she claimed.
Attempts by XPRESS to get a comment from the centre elicited no response.
Meanwhile the Knowledge and Human Development Authority said it was looking into the matter and advised parents to fill out a dispute form through the KHDA e-feedback system www.khda.gov.ae/en/e-Feedback, so it would allow the authority to follow up the case.
