Dubai school closure: Parents recount woes

Dubai - School's management cited "historically low school fees" as the driving force behind the closure decision.

Following the announcement that Emirates English Speaking School (EESS) in Dubai will be closing its doors for good next year, parents and teachers left rocked by the decision have aired their frustrations to Khaleej Times.
"My daughter is a SEN (Special Educational Needs) student in fifth grade. We've been trying desperately to get her enrolled in another school since we found out about the closure, but we've had no luck," Anil Kumar, a parent, told Khaleej Times.
On June 28, the school's management broke the news to teachers and parents, citing "historically low school fees" as the driving force behind the closure decision.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on Wednesday, a teacher who has been with the school for more than 10 years said "Around 15-20 of the 105 teachers have already left" and the current student registration count is about 1,000. In June this year, the student count was 1,550.
Now many parents with kids still enrolled in classes claim they have been left in limbo trying to find alternative, affordable schools.
With annual tuition fees starting from Dh3,568 for KG 1 up to Dh5,414 for Grade 12, EESS - a 30-year veteran on the Dubai school circuit - is one of the most affordable Indian curriculum campuses in the city.
"Schools are not saying it directly, but I know why they are hesitant to take on my child. It's because of the extra support she needs; it comes at a high price. At EESS she has great support from teachers and the fees are affordable; all in we pay about Dh9,000 for tuition, transport, and after school activates. To find this elsewhere feels impossible," Kumar said.
Though parents were informed of the 2019 closure at end of Term 1 this year, Joji Mathew said it was a shock.
"We had no inkling this was going to happen. I feel like we were kept in the dark. My daughter has been at the school since Grade 3 and she is now in her most important year taking exams. Enrolling her somewhere else at this late stage isn't possible."
Though his daughter will be passing out in March 2019, Mathew said he was concerned that teaching standards would drop when students returned to school this month.
"Teachers are very dedicated at the school, but if they find alternative positions in the meantime, they will leave and I don't blame them. Because I am keeping my daughter in school until it closes, my concern now is quality of delivery."
Calling the school closure a "big loss for the community", mother-of-two, A.B., said delivery of the news ill-timed.
"We got wind of the closure the day the school was closing for summer. There was no time to call for a follow up meeting. If you ask me plainly, it is affecting so many children and families. If they're citing financial issues, why was the option to increase school fees not put on the table?"
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai