Sharjah authorities warn schools on advance fee

Sharjah: Parents of schoolchildren can file a complaint against schools that force them to pay one-third of the school fees to reserve seat for the next academic year.

The Sharjah Educational Zone had earlier warned private schools against compelling parents to pay 33 per cent of tuition fees for the next academic year.

Khalfan Al Mutawa, official in charge of Private School Licensing Department at Sharjah Educational Zone, called on parents of schoolchildren to file a complaint against schools that ask them to pay one-third of school fees for next academic year 2013/2014.

He said the Ministry of Education’s rules oblige parents to pay an amount of Dh500-Dh1000 for seat reservation, and is deducted from the total school fees. The school applies to all schools in the UAE.

The educational zone clarified that this is a regulatory procedure adopted by schools to count the number of students enrolled, in order to know if the number of students exceeds the school’s capacity or it can accept more.

He asked parents to approach the Private Education Department at the Sharjah Educational Zone and file a complaint against these schools.

“This is an illegal procedure, but we cannot take any action against a school without having a written complaint by parents,” Al Mutawa explained.

He added that the Private and Quality Education at the zone have instructed administrations of private schools that follow the Ministry of Education’s curriculum and those following international curricula to collect Dh500 or a maximum of Dh1000 from pupils’ parents for booking a seat provided that it is calculated as part of the total tuition fees.

Hessa Al Khaja, Head of Private Education, said, “It is untrue that schools compel parents to pay 33 per cent of total tuition fees.

Umm Saif, a mother of three students at a school in Sharjah, said that she received a letter from the school for re-registering her children, asking her to pay Dh24,000 for her three children, Dh8,000 for each child, if she wants to re-enroll them.

Umm Saif said the school administration told her that this is the system followed by the school for many years and there is no choice for changing it. She was told “those who will not pay the required amount will lose their seat at the school”.

Dalia Najati, mother of a student at another school in Sharjah, said the payment of 33 per cent of school fees is thus adding to the financial burden that parents have to bear.

She confirmed that she asked other schools and parents who have registered their children in other schools and found out that they only demand parents to pay an amount that does not exceed Dh1,000 only.

— Nawal Al Ramahi is a trainee at Gulf News