Dubai school shuts down after 30 years of operations

Exterior view of the Emirates English Speaking School in Al Safa, Dubai.-KT file photo

With heavy hearts, nearly 600 staff members and students of the Emirates English Speaking School (EESS) in Al Safa, Dubai, bid goodbye to each other on Monday (March 25), as the school shut down after over 30 years of operations.
The school announced its closure in June 2018, citing 'financial constraints', and Monday marked the last working day for the EESS staff and students.
According to teachers and support staff who spoke to Khaleej Times on the condition of anonymity, almost 95 per cent of the staff members have already found employment and 500 students have been placed in other schools in Sharjah and Dubai.
The EESS staff and students said they would miss the school deeply.
"We had a farewell party for all the staff members on Monday. Teachers came forward to speak about their experiences in the school, and everyone was given a farewell gift.
"Teachers cried, hugged each other. Many of them have been serving the school for nearly 30 years," said one teacher.
"The ones who have not found employment yet are planning to go back to their home countries. Some failed to find new jobs because of their age."
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum school prioritised the transfer of its Grade 10 and 12 students after the initial announcement was made, as the Indian board requires pupils to enlist the details of the school they will be taking their board exams from.
"All students have been placed in other schools," another teacher explained.
Repeated attempts by Khaleej Times to reach out to the school's principal went unanswered.
Some Grade 12 pupils will continue to take their final board exams according to the board schedule.
A teacher, who had been with the school for over a decade, said: "It was a very emotional farewell for students and teachers. It came as a shock to many, even though we had a year to find new employment and transfer the students to other schools."
Students have found admission at Pace International School in Sharjah, Elite International School, Our Own Indian School, Al Quoz, and several other schools that offer affordable fees.
"For example, the EESS fee for Grade 12 was priced at only Dh700 per month," said a teacher.
Swetha Rajasekar, a former student of the school who graduated from Grade 12, told Khaleej Times that the school was a 'community' and operated as a family. "It's very heartbreaking. Seniors would come back to meet their old teachers, but we will never be able to do that anymore, and it's very painful. We hear the school is being demolished."
She added: "There were reports in the media that suggested our school shut down due to the poor performance of the teachers. This is absolutely untrue. We may have had poor funding, but our teachers were one of the best in the city. Many of them have spent their entire life teaching students of EESS."
Another Grade 12 student, Nikita Thakwani, had been enrolled in the EESS since she was in Grade 1.
"It's very sad that the school has closed its doors. We were a small school with one to two sections, and we had great rapport with the teachers and staff of the school. There wasn't any cut-throat competition, and we never put each other down."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com