Plan to set up exam centre in Dubai

A Dubai-based school is planning to set up an examination centre here where students from the UAE and neighbouring Gulf states can take their entrance exams to medicine and engineering colleges in Kerala.

The Varkey International Private School is awaiting the Kerala state ministry's approval. The proposal to set up the centre has been recommended by the Indian consulate, as it would help hundreds of students who would otherwise have to fly home for the exams.

The centre will double up as an exam coaching centre, Colonel M.L. Augustine, head of Education Secretariat of the Varkey Group, told Gulf News.

Aziz Akhtar Nayyar, principal of the school, said this is now possible as the school is running a single shift and one of its sections can now be utilised. He also said that besides providing tuition, the school has also invited O.M. Nambiar to train children in athletics. Nambiar is widely known as the coach of P.T. Usha, India's 'Sprint Queen'.

The school recently reopened after the UAE ministry approval was given to hike its fees by 20 per cent.

Asked whether the earlier announcement of closure was a management ploy to force the hand of the education authorities here, the principal said it would not have been possible to run the school because of huge overhead costs.

Eighty children who had been shifted to other schools in the Group, have returned, he said, and both parents and children were obviously unhappy over the decision to close.

Some of the boys and girls of Grade 11 told Gulf News they were "shattered" when told of the closure. They said it was very hard for them to adjust to the new school where they had been shifted.

The principal said the group is grateful to the authorities for approving the hike, though it falls short of the 40 per cent hike it had requested. He said the tuition fee is still very low, despite the increase to Dh216 from Dh186. Nayyar said the approval for the hike is unique as it has not been given to any other institution.

The school now has 1,500 students on its rolls. The new centre will also offer coaching classes for the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Examination).