Choosing the best school in the UAE: Parents talk fees, quality education and ratings
Following KHDA inspection of Indian and Pakistani schools, parents share their views
Dubai: The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the educational quality assurance and regulatory authority of the Government of Dubai, has announced the inspection results for Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools for the academic year of 2019-2020.
GEMS New Millenium School bumped up its rating to 'Very Good', as did Ambassador School, JSS Private School and JSS International School received a rating of 'Very Good' from KHDA.
Gulf News spoke to some parents to find out what is the criteria they look for when it comes to choosing a school for their child. Take a look at what they said.
Reputation of school matters
Dr. Poonam Sharma, a practicing doctor in Dubai said reputation of the school mattered most when it came to picking an institution for her daughter.
SEE THIS YEAR KHDA RATINGS FOR INDIAN AND PAKISTANI SCHOOLS
Her daughter Vinita Sharma, 17 is in grade 12 at the Delhi Private School (DPS) – Jebel Ali. “Back home in India DPS is a massive brand and here too, the school has good reputation. I belong to Jaipur in India and DPS is a very reputable school there. So when it came to picking a school for my daughter in Dubai – it was easy. It had to be DPS. My daughter is very happy studying here. She has a great relationship with her teachers and it all works so well.”
Dr. Sharma said she pays fees of Dh14,500 per year for her child’s school fees and this includes bus charges as well.
Economic criteria
For Nashiket Parsekar, 43 when it came to selecting a school for his eight year daughter – it was all about an institution with low school fees, but providing quality education. Both these for him, he says, fell in place with the Indian High School (HIS) Dubai.
“My wife and I wanted our child to be educated under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. That was our first priority. Second education had to be affordable. Third – the reputation of the school mattered.”
Parsekar’s eight-year-old daughter Sana, is in Grade 2. He pays a fees of Dh950 a month. “This is falls well within my budget and I am very happy with the teaching. My child is happy in the school,” he said.
Location, location, location
Manjula Nagangoutar, 44 who belongs to the state of Karnataka said JSS is a popular brand of school back home in her city. She said that was a key criteria when she was looking for a school for her child. Her son, Sagar Gouda, 12 years, studies in Grade 7 of JSS Private School. She said it was location and proximity to her house that clinched the deal when it came to enrolling her child in a school.
The school has been rated ‘Very Good’ this year by KHDA.
“My son is very happy going to the school. We are so happy that we nailed this school for him.”
For the record, Nagangoutar pays Dh2,150 per month including bus fees for her son.
Giving weight to KHDA ratings
Preeti Balmurali, 42, Indian whose son Gautam (9 years of age) in Grade 4 goes to DPS Jebel Ali. “Enrolling her child in CBSE curriculum was key. We also gave a lot of weightage to KHDA rating as we wanted our child to be in a good, well reputed school.”
Balmurali pays Dh17,000 per annum towards tuition and bus fees for her son.
Devi Raja, 35, also agreed that she scanned KHDA ratings before deciding on a school for her child. Her daughter, 9 years of age in Grade 4 of JSS Private School is very happy. “It is safer to put your child in a school that has a good reputation and is well established.”
She was happy to note that her child’s school was rated ‘Very Good’ but is hoping this will not lead to a fee increase. “Usually the schools hike up fees based on the rating, hope this does not happen.” Raja said she pays a fee of Dh1,800 per month including bus fees for her child.
Pakistani father Syed Kazim, 41 sends his son, Syed Mohammed Shayan (8 years old) to a school which only costs him Dh800 a month including bus fees. “I researched on two other schools but narrowed on this one as it was economically feasible and it has a good set of teachers, imparting good education.”
Radha Fonseca, 34, a Sri Lankan expat living in Dubai said it was critical for her to find the right school for her children. “Education is key. So I did my own research on schools, their reputation, branding and narrowed it down finally.”