The Westminster School to remain open without any fee hike as Gems reverses decision

Dubai: The Westminster School (TWS) will remain open without any increase in fees after Gems officials reversed their previous decision to close it down in June 2014 due to fee increase restrictions.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced on Sunday that the school has withdrawn its application to close TWS, ensuring that the school’s 5,000 students will not have to look for admissions elsewhere.

The school initially applied for closure in August 2012, after it was unable to increase fees above the permissible limits stipulated by the KHDA’s fee framework.

Gems claimed that the restriction in TWS’s fee structure prevented it from improving its school’s infrastructure and education given the school’s already low fees in comparison with other schools.

“As a regulatory body, our job is to assure quality and accessibility throughout the education system in Dubai,” said Mohammad Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Compliance Commission at the KHDA. “The initial application to close TWS was a business decision made by Gems and was processed in line with KHDA regulations. Following a secondary review, the organisation has withdrawn the application to close and the school will stay open.”

Commenting on the decision to keep the school open, a Gems education spokesperson said TWS will remain open and parents who have paid registration fees for other Gems schools for the next academic year will get a refund if they wish to remain at TWS.

“Gems Education is very pleased to announce that it has decided to keep TWS open. At this time Gems would like to acknowledge the parents and students of the school for their understanding and support over the past few months. The passion they have displayed for their school has been extraordinary. In consultation with the KHDA, The Westminster School will continue operations with no change to tuition fees for the academic year 2013/14. Parents who have paid registration fees for other Gems schools for the next academic year will have their fees refunded if they wish to remain at TWS,” said a Gems spokesperson.

‘Very happy’

The German mother of a grade five student, Agnes, said that the decision to keep the school open meant stability for her child’s future.

“I think that it is excellent that the school will remain open, not only for me but for all parents. We have been living in uncertainty for months now and I know that many parents, especially those who have children in their senior year were very concerned and were looking for other schools,” she said.

Dr Fahd Mahmoud Mustafa, the Jordanian father of grade one student Mohammad, said that he was happy he had played a part in keeping the school open.

“I am really happy with the decision. I was one of the parents who was a member of the committee that went to the KHDA and Gems to fight for the school to remain open so I am grateful that all the work paid off,” said Mustafa

Indian national, Tasneem Ratlamwala, has two children who attend TWS. She said that she knew that the school would remain open but she was happily surprised that no increase in fees was imposed.

“I am very happy to hear that the school will remain open without increasing its fees because many of the other parents were not in favour of the increase so it’s good news for everyone,” said Ratlamwala.

Noor Nazzal is a trainee at Gulf News