New blow for Dubai parents as Delhi Private School to close

Just days following the shock closure announcement of Delhi Private School Academy (DPSA) in Dubai, yet more fuel has been added to the fire as many of the 426 students left in limbo are now being called for an assessment in order to transfer to a sister school.
The move has left many parents up in arms.
On October 17, a meeting announcing the school's closure - which will take effect in March 2017 - sent shock waves through the DPSA family.
Although parents were given an option to enroll their children in two sister schools - DPS Sharjah and DPS Jebel Ali - the transition process is not proving as smooth-sailing as parents first thought.
"I received an email on October 20 from DPS Dubai asking my KG1 daughter to come forward for an assessment. That was a shock," Ujwal Kalpavraksh told Khaleej Times.
He questioned why this course of action was being subjected on parents.
"Why should parents endure such assessments? The closure is out of the parents hands and these are schools which are part of the DPS conglomerate," he said.
And it is a move which has left a bad taste in parents' mouths.
"Many are now thinking they may as well go somewhere else."
Khaleej Times did make contact with Dinesh Kothari, the pro vice-chairman of the school on Friday, but he said he did not want to comment on this issue.
Aside from the assessment requests, many parents are also dissatisfied with the alternative school suggestions as they only offer a CBSE curriculum.
"We moved my daughter to this school because we wanted her to study the ICSE curriculum. Now they come back with alternatives for transfer to a CBSE curriculum. It's not good enough," Lata Bhadra, parent of a Grade 9 student said.
Bhadra's daughter will now be starting JSS International on November 1.
Suspicious timing
Following the October 17 meeting, Bhadra was disgruntled by the timing of the announcement.
"They strategically planned this announcement so that parents would be forced to pay the school fees for November, even those withdrawing from the school immediately," she said.
According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority's 'School Fees Framework' refund policy, if the student attends school "for a period ranging between two weeks and one month, two months' fees will be deducted".
"They announced the news more than two weeks into the month which is simply unethical in my opinion."
School management allegedly told the parents they had been discussing the possibility of closure for six months too, another factor which Kalpavraksh said "agitated parents". Paying around Dh36,000 annually for their daughters schooling, and more than Dh12,000 for the September to December term, the Bhadra's said they will fight to claw back the November tuition fees.
How are teachers affected? Founded in April 2013, DPSA currently boasts an 'acceptable' rating by the KHDA.
One teacher Khaleej Times spoke to said children in her class have "already left for other schools".
"Others are in the process of applying for admission too. It is very sad."
And for another teacher, whose child is also a DPSA student, it has been a double blow.
 "I am now faced with the dilemma of looking for a new school for my child as well as a job for me."
DPSA is one of only four schools in Dubai offering the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), along with Gems Modern Academy (GMA), Ambassador School and JSS International School.
Closure should not affect school sentiment
The recent announcement of the upcoming closure of Delhi Private School Academy (DPSA) needs to be treated as an isolated case.
As the education sector continues to go from strength to strength in Dubai, this recent news may shake sentiments,but James Mullan of Which School Advisor told Khaleej Times there is no need to worry.
"I think they are particular circumstances around this school which need to be taken into account."
He said 80 per cent of schools in Dubai work on a "for profit" basis, but DPSA is one of few "not-for-profit" schools.
"Despite being not-for-profit, the school still needs to make some amount of money. But it clearly had some warning signs." With many factors adding to the reasons behind the school's closure, a 57 per cent teacher turnover (according to a KHDA report) is one that has had many talking, he said.
And the high school fees did little to disable the alarm bells too.
"The fee level for this type of Indian school was high. That didn't help its cause."
For the parents hesitant to shift their child to the alternative schools suggested by DPSA, Mullan said feedback from other schools regarding relocating students has been positive.
"Schools like Credence and Springdales have responded well and are offering to speak to parents looking at other options."
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Kelly Clarke

kelly@khaleejtimes.com