Talks held with officials over expelled Dubai pupils

Dubai: Education officials are in talks with Repton School over the expulsion of three Emirati siblings over unpaid school fees of Dh332,000.

As Gulf News reported on Wednesday, the three siblings, a 12-year-old and his two older sisters, were expelled last week from the school.

Dubai's education authority, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), is investigating the incident, following a complaint from the father. KHDA stressed that no student can be expelled from a school without prior approval from the authority.

The KHDA investigation is expected to conclude soon and an outcome is expected by early next week, Gulf News has learned.

Repton School Headmaster Jonathan Hughes D'Aeth said: "The school has always acted in the best interest of our students, as our record in this case proves." He said that they are in conversation with KHDA "to find the right compromise in the situation."

The school has a significant number of Emirati students, he said.

The expelled students had spoken of how they were humiliated to be handed expulsion letters while they were in class. The headmaster, however, justified the act saying it was standard procedure for a school to hand sealed envelopes addressed to the parents to students.

Apart from written communication, he said several discussions were held with the parents through email and in person.

Tuition fees for the siblings add up to around Dh207,500 a year. The dues for two academic years (the current year and the past one), had accumulated to around Dh410,000. The father was able to pay Dh78,000, bringing the total to Dh332,000.

Regular with payments

The father, a government employee, cited financial issues for not being able to be regular with payments.

"On Tuesday, I was asked by KHDA to take the children to the school. But while I was on the way I got a call from the school informing me not to do so," said the father, who asked not to be named.

"I'm extremely worried whether my children will lose one academic year. Right now I'm caught up between KHDA and the school," he said. "Our whole family is saddened by the situation. We are hoping KHDA can somehow help us resolve the issue."