Students stranded as school denied permission for class 9 classes

Dubai — As many as 17 students of an Indian school in Dubai have been left in the lurch after the school was denied permission to conduct grade nine classes.

Their parents are running from pillar to post for getting them admitted in some other schools as Springdales School in Al Qouz was unable to offer classes beyond grade eight when the school reopened for new academic year on April 6.

Parents of 31 students were in for a shock when they were informed that the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) had denied permission to commence classes for their children just one day before they were to resume school after the spring break.

“We were called in for an urgent meeting on April 5 and were told the school has no permission to start grade nine,” said one parent on condition of anonymity.

“We are just so angry that the school didn’t inform us about the issue beforehand, thereby preventing us from looking out for options before other schools closed admissions,” the parent said.

Some 14 students were lucky to have got admitted in another school, parents said, because it had started a new division in grade nine and was still enrolling new students.

However, the rest of them are clueless about their future, as most schools following the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus have closed admissions.

Parents said a letter given by the school was not helpful to get admission. They said they are pinning hopes on two schools that still have some vacant seats. However, they are concerned about these options since the students have to clear an entrance exam. Moreover, one of these schools is in Sharjah and does not provide transport to areas in Dubai.

“Instead of preparing for their grade nine FA (Formative Assessment) exams that are starting in May, our kids are now revising the grade eight lessons again to sit for the entrance tests,” said another parent.

He said the students are likely to find it tough at least in Science and English, as they were not taught all lessons in these subjects in grade eight due to the shortage of teachers.

Parents are also upset after one of them was told on Thursday that the school would not refund the admission fee, contrary to what was promised. They said they were told that the school would refund the fees for registration, admission and uniforms.

However, when contacted, Dr. Farooq Wasil, the CEO of Goldline Education Group that runs the school, said the school would keep its word in refunding the fees.

“We were ready to forgo even the tuition fee and teach the students since they have to be registered with the CBSE in May. But, we were not allowed,” he told Khaleej Times.

According to him, the KHDA communicated its decision to reject permission for grade nine classes only when the school sent an application for it in March, almost five months after the authority inspected the school.

“There was no written communication regarding this after the inspection in September. When it was conveyed to us, we did not immediately inform the parents because we wanted to appeal to the regulators and seek an exemption to avoid the students’ education suffering.”

He said the school had requested for another round of inspection and also sought KHDA’s help to replace the students to other schools. KHDA could not be contacted for comments on Thursday afternoon.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com