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Westminster School to shut down in 2014

Despite charges of up to Dh10,000 a year, a Dubai school which is part of the largest school network in the world is blaming a cashflow issue for its closure.

More than 4,900 students from The Westminster School (TWS) in Dubai will have to look for alternative schools in June 2014, when the school will close its doors — with some parents speculating greed behind the move.

School officials say they have been “severely restricted because of the current fee structure” which is subject to a three per cent increase after receiving an ‘acceptable’ rating from school inspectors at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

The fees framework came into effect earlier this year following a decision by the Dubai Executive Council (DEC), allowing fee increases to be based on an Education Cost Index and the school rating by the KHDA.

In a statement, a spokesperson from GEMS education, the school’s operator said the permitted three per cent increase for a “low fee paying school” equated to just 167 dirhams per year for the school — “which is clearly unsustainable. Our view is that we all need to think about how we arrive at a formula that does work for schools with fees at these low levels.”

With schools allowed between a three and six per cent increase in annual school fees, low cost and affordable schools have only been able to increase their fees by a small margin.

Some parents, who did not wish to be named, said they believed the school was deliberately trying to close down and promote admission to other schools owned by the GEMS group, which are priced at a premium.

The Westminster School in Dubai charges between Dh5,000 to Dh10,000 per year and offers classes from kindergarten to Year 13. While the school says it will work towards providing alternative places for students in other GEMS schools, it is unclear how many parents would be willing to pay the extra price at other schools.

More than 130 schools in Dubai have increased their fees this year as a result of the fee increase framework which allowed schools to increase fees for the first time in three years. While the move was welcomed by several school operators, the decision by GEMS to close TWS has come as a surprise to parents.

Mohammed Ikram has four children going to the same school. The announcement by the school to close down has come as a shock to his family.

“We were notified by an SMS to check our e-mail announcing the school’s plan to close down. Getting a school for one child is difficult and now I will have to look for a new school for all four children, which will not be an easy task.”

The school has received a nod from the KHDA to close down with parents allowed to make their own choice of selecting another school.

In September this year, GEMS Education opened the Sharjah branch of Westminster School where fee structures are almost double compared to the existing school in Dubai.

The KHDA officials were not available to make a comment at the time of going to Press.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com