Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority to impose a parent-school contract mandatory upon registration

Dubai: A new legally binding contract between parents and private schools in Dubai will be introduced in order to reduce disputes between parents and schools by outlining each party’s rights and responsibilities.

The new initiative was introduced by the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in order to promote positive relationships and protect the rights of both schools and families. The School Parent Contract will include refund and admission policies, school fees, attendance and punctuality, as well as health and safety provision and transportation. It will also address parental responsibilities such as providing schools with accurate medical, psychological and educational assessment records.

“Constructive relationships between schools and families are essential to ensuring excellence in education,” said Amal Bel Hasa, Chief of Compliance and Resolution Commission at KHDA. “A detailed list of terms and conditions will be beneficial to both schools and parents, enabling them to fully understand expectations and responsibilities.

“In addition to this contract, schools should have effective procedures to address and mitigate parental concerns and complaints. At the same time it’s important we recognise the vital role parents play as a resource in the educational experience of their children. We’d like to thank the schools for their participation.”

The new parent-school contract will be mandatory for students upon registration and will first be implemented on a total of 9,632 students from six schools at the start of the 2013/14 academic year that include Dubai Modern Education School, Al Ittihad Private School - Al Mamzar, Al Ittihad Private School - Jumeriah, School of Modern Skills, Greenwood International School and American Academy in Al Mizhar which will be the first to introduce the contracts, involving a total of 9,632 students.

Continuous evaluations determining the effectiveness of the contracts in reducing disputes between parents and schools will be undertaken during this time. Based on the outcome of the evaluations, the initiative will be expanded.

Gulf News spoke to parents and schools to learn their thoughts regarding the new initiative. Hania Jardaneh, the principal of the girls’ section at Ittihad Private School, the Mamzar branch, one of the schools which is part of the initiative’s first phase, said: “The contract is a great idea because it preserves the student and school’s rights by including many items such as fees policies, curriculum offerings, health policies, behavioural requirements and many more. This helps the parents and schools be on the same page in terms of the student’s progression to ultimately reach the same goal which is the student’s well-being.”

“This is a welcome move and is in the interest of all the stakeholders. In fact such a move was long overdue. The best thing is that it will be initially implemented in selected schools. This will help in fine-tuning it,” said Syed Tabrez, the principal of Emirates English Speaking School.

Mother of two Shameem Yousuf believes that the new policy would be a positive one in certain aspects but not in others: “When it comes to school fees I think that the parent- school contract will be effective in protecting parents from fee hikes however when it comes to punctuality and attendance I don’t think that it is practical because each school has its policy”

Eman Hassan, a mother of two children, also believes that the contract will be effective in controlling fee hikes. “My children’s school has recently increased its school bus fees and I think that if we have such a contract it would have prevented the increase from occurring.”

The terms of the contract were informed by best international practices customised to local conditions as well as extensive consultations with schools and parents. The document contains procedures for resolving disputes together with details of how schools and parents can appeal against decisions.

A graphic information sheet outlining the contract finalisation process is available on the KHDA website.

Noor Nazzal is a trainee at Gulf News