Parents claim Dubai Scholars told them their kids won’t get admission for 2013-2014 if uniform fees not paid by May 26
Dubai: A school is demanding Dh1,000 for school uniforms and has threatened parents that if they don’t pay up within a fortnight their children will not be considered for the next academic year.
Parents say Dubai Scholars in Al Ghusais is forcing them to pay more than three times the usual price for the uniform by May 26 or their wards will not be considered for 2013-2014.
The school which has been rated good by KHDA three years running, issued a directive on May 13 stating that students of Grades 1 to 6 must pay Dh1,000 for five T-shirts, two skirts or shorts, one pair of shoes, three pairs of socks and a cap. The list also includes a school bag and two scrunchies for girls — all to be paid by May 26, failing which a child will not be considered for academic year 2013-14, reads the notification. XPRESS has a copy of the circular.
“We paid about Dhs300 for more or less the same stuff last academic session and now we have all been asked to pay Dh1,000. For students in higher classes, we are told, the amount is around Dh1,200,” said an angry parent who requested anonymity.
The father of a Grade 1 student told XPRESS, “The school clearly wants to make a 50 per cent profit.
“That’s about Dh500-plus per student and I assume there are about 1,000 students in the school, so that easily works out to a cool half-a-million dirhams,” he added. According to the KHDA’s latest figures, the school had 1,573 students on its rolls last academic session.
Some are questioning whether the British Curriculum school has the right to impose its diktat on students. “School bags, socks and shoes should be the prerogative of the parents. It should be an option, not compulsory to buy from the school. It should completely be the individual parent’s call,” insisted a parent.
second time
However, this doesn’t seem to be the only instance when parents have been angry at the school. The school had come under fire for hiking fees. “They [the school] increased the fees by six per cent last year and then very cleverly by six per cent this year, just when admissions in other schools were closed. The school argued that KHDA has allowed them to increase fees by 18 per cent, but since they did not want to overburden parents, they split it into three parts,” said a parent.
Responding to an XPRESS query, the school administrator said: “We have been meeting with parents who have addressed their concerns regarding the school bag and school shoes and the fact that it was included in the school uniform package for the academic year 2013-2014. We have taken into consideration their point of view and will be keeping the shoes and bags optional. All parents will be receiving a circular tomorrow (Thursday) confirming the same.”
