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UAE: Schools see last-minute admission rush with 3 days left for students to return

For some students it will be the start of a new academic year, for others it will be the continuation of the previous year that began in April

Several schools around the country, especially affordable ones, faced heavy rush for last-minute admissions. Some are working around the clock, while others are opening extra classes to meet the demand.

“Last-minute admissions typically increase significantly as the academic year approaches,” said Sahar El Gayyar, director of admissions and community relations at Next Generation School Dubai. “To manage the influx, we are extending working hours, streamlining the admissions process, and seeking additional assistance from our support and admin teams.”

Most UAE students will go back to school after their seven-week long summer vacation on Monday, August 26. While for some it will be the start of a new academic year, for others it will be the continuation of the previous year that began in April.

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According to Sahar, such last-minute admission rush is quite common. “It is usually caused by relocation to the area or the country or by those making late decisions,” she said. "We do our best to accommodate the sharp increase in applications. However, we cannot always find a placement as most of the grade levels are full by this time. Sometimes, we do open extra classes to accommodate the high demand, especially in the early years programme.”

At Hope English School in Sharjah, staff have also been working around the clock to accommodate the influx of new admissions. “Out of the 295 new admissions we have, we received the highest number of admission requests for lower grades,” said admissions officer Alice. “Many of them have relocated to the UAE from other countries. In such cases, awareness about the documentation process is one of the biggest struggles we face.”

Negotiated payment plan

For many parents, the back-to-school period brings with it a huge bill. Sharjah-based parent Niggat Abbas has spent over Dh25,000 this week alone. “I have three children studying in school and college,” she said. “The back-to-school period is one of the most expensive times. We tried to negotiate a payment plan with school and university. The school refused but thankfully, the university agreed. This has helped us immensely.”

She said she and her husband have been trying to cut down on every dirham spent. “We are now looking for secondhand books so that we don’t have to spend money on brand new ones,” she said. “We have also procured uniforms from an independent store as they are cheaper than the ones being offered by school. For stationary and other such items, we are looking for good deals.”

Divya P., whose children study in a British-curriculum school here, said that she was getting her children’s textbooks from India. “I have two children and I can save about Dh3,000 together on both their textbooks by ordering from India,” she said. “As soon as the book list was out, I placed an order for them. Next week, my brother will come to Dubai and he will bring the books with him.”

Rise in demand for affordable schools

Parent Mohammed Iqbal recently moved his children to a more affordable school. “I was paying roughly Dh55,000 per year for both my kids and it was honestly the upper limit of what I could afford,” he said. “When news about the school fee increase came out, I decided to start school shopping.”

For this academic year, he has put his children in a school with an annual fee of Dh30,000. “The fee includes books and school uniform,” he said. “I am able to save about 50 percent on my school fee expenses, which is quite significant. I am just hoping my children settle well into the new school.”

Earlier this week, the UAE’s largest private school operator Gems Education revealed that their Founders School model, which has an average fees of about Dh30,000 has been extremely popular. The group is opening two branches of the school in Abu Dhabi and Dubai South. Officials said they had seen an immense response. “At the Open Day held last week, we had thousands of parents come in,” said deputy CEO, Dr Saima Rana.

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