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E-signature on school contract mandatory
Considerable rush of parents reported at many Indian schools.
Dubai — Parents are queuing up in Dubai schools to give their digital signature for the parent-school contract — a mandatory requirement by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) — which has been moved online as it is made mandatory from this year.
Considerable rush of parents is reported in many Indian schools, especially during the hours close to office break times. While the waiting time in some school lasted for 20 minutes to half an hour, parents in some bigger schools had to wait for 40 minutes to one hour and more during rush hours.
Though the process of giving the electronic signature, by and large, is not taking up more than a few minutes, the long queue of parents is spilling into the stairways and corridors in some schools with several thousands of students.
The principal of an Indian school said schools are being asked to rush and finish the signing before they close for summer vacation. “We have been given 10 days to finish contracts of some 13,000…It’s not an easy job to get it done with some 1,200-1,300 parents every day,” he said.
To organise the signing process better, some schools have permitted either of the parents to sign and allocated different days for different grades. However, in some schools, this has created inconvenience for parents with more than one child studying in the same school. They are not allowed to sign the contracts of all children on the same day and required to visit the school on separate days assigned for their children’s classes.
This issue is not reported in schools with less number of children. “Parents of siblings studying in our school were allowed to sign for all their children on the same day. We had sent emails alerting parents about their schedule to visit the school for this purpose almost a week ago,” said one supervisor from another Indian school.
However, parents in another school said they were given a very short notice from their children’s school. “The circular was sent on Monday and we were asked to visit the school on Tuesday between 9.30am and 4.30pm. I couldn’t manage to go because of work. My wife also couldn’t make it as she is struggling with two smaller kids at home,” said Mohammed Adil.
However, he said, when he went on Thursday, the school allowed him to sign. “I had heard the parents who came on Tuesday had to wait for long. But it took only 15-20minutes for me.”
Another parent from the same school said the short notice also prompted parents to just rush to the school without even going through the contract online.
“Last year, the contract was sent in a booklet with many pages and we were given time to go through it before signing…Most of the parents including me did not read the online version mentioned in the circular this time. We just went and signed,” said Shanawas Moidu. However, he said he signed only for one of his two daughters this week. “I will have to go again for my elder daughter.”
Shajudheen Jabbar, a parent who signed the contract in another school on Monday, said KHDA emailed the link to the signed contract within one hour.
Excerpts from the contract:
Parent – School Contract
- Provide the school with copies of all medical, psychological or educational assessments or reports on entry to the school. Such materials are a prerequisite in enabling us to provide the best education for your child. Failure to disclose any such information, including the deliberate withholding of information, may result in your child not making the expected progress in school
- Notify the principal in writing if they are aware or suspect that their child (or anyone in his or her imme-diate family) has a learning diculty, and the parents must provide the school with copies of all written reports and other relevant information. Parents will be asked to withdraw their child if, in the professional judgment of the principal and the child’s teachers, and after consultation with the parents and with the student (where appropriate), the school suspects that such vital information about special needs has been deliberately withheld.
- Refer to the school’s policy on “special educational needs” for full details.
a) Mandatory subjects:
As per the rules and regulations in the UAE, it is mandatory for:
1. All Muslim students to study Islamic Education from Grade/Year 1 to Grade 12/Year 13 inclusive.
2. All Arab students (registered at the school with an Arab passport) to study Arabic as a &rst language from Grade/Year 1 to Grade /Year 12 inclusive.
3. All students registered at the school with a non-Arab passport to study Arabic as an additional language from Grade/Year 1 to Grade/ Year 9 inclusive.
New students:
- For new students, and according to the Schools Fees Framework, the school will charge parents up to 30per cent of the total fee amount to be paid within ten (number of) days of the issuing of the acceptance letter.
- This amount is non-refundable unless the family has to move outside the Emirate of Dubai before the start of the academic year.
- This amount is deductible from the &rst term of the academic year.
- The responsibilities of the parents include:
- Supplying the school with valid and updated contact details, including home and mobile numbers, e-mail addresses and home locations.
- Updating the school about any changes in the contact information.
- Referring regularly to established means of communications for any updates about the school.
- Being courteous in their approach to sta when enquiring about their child.
- Attending all meetings, conferences and reviews related to their child’s progress and performance. Fail-ure to do so may jeopardise their child’s progress and learning experience. Parents’ level of participation, involvement and responsibility in their child’s learning will aect his or her chances for re-enrolment the following year.
sajila@khaleejtimes.com
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