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28 March 2024

Dubai school admissions: Should registration fee be refundable?

Published
By Sneha May Francis

Getting an admission for your child in a reputed school in Dubai is much like getting into the premier league.

Or, so it seems in Dubai.

Some schools in Dubai even claim they have closed admissions until 2017!

Shocked? Well, that’s how critical the situation is today.

Getting a school admission is, by far, one of the most demanding exercises that an expat will have to eventually undergo in Dubai.

It demands hours of research, numerous calls to prospective schools, foresightedness, a little bit of lobbying  and a large chunk of your bank balance.

“Should you be worried about admissions before diapers,” quizzed resident Mohammed.

“I was told that I should’ve applied for the school admission while I was pregnant,” recalled anxious parent and CEO of souqalmal website, Ambareen Musa, who is currently struggling to get her daughter into school.

She, and her team, hosted an informative panel discussion gathering a handful of parents, reporters and school heads to delve into the reality of securing a spot in a Dubai school.

“I started applying for my three-year-old, when he was a week old.

We’ve spent about Dh4,000 applying to various schools, but we haven’t got a place anywhere. I understand schools are busy but what nobody has been able to tell us is what they’ve done with our money,” revealed Anil Bhoyroo, a journalist and parent of two.

“They take the registration fee but don’t tell you how big the waiting list is.

“And, some schools were paid years in advance. So, schools are effectively holding on to a lot of interest-free money.”

He focused on how bigger schools could possibly be holding close to Dh2.5million in cash every year, from children they have not admitted in their schools. “There’s a lot of money being held back by the bigger schools,” he asserted.

Ambareen pointed out that under the KHDA regulation, schools can charge a non-refundable fee for every admitted kid, but not for every child who sought admission.

“Why are we paying to a school that our child won’t go to in any case.”

That, however, isn’t the norm at Taaleem, highlighted Clive Pierrepont, director of communications. “At the time of applying, parents are given the real picture. That’s throughout our ten schools.”

The fee, which was introduced in Horizon school just two years ago, was done to filter out the authentic queries. “When there was no fee every parent, whether they wanted to send their child to our school or not, would put in an application. But, this way, it makes the application serious,” insisted Saleha Khateeb.

When quizzed about what they did with the fees, the educationists explained how it took care of the administrative work, which, according to them, entailed numerous checks, e-mail follow-ups and a lot of precious manpower.

“It’s also about keeping your application active,” added Jonanthan Price, headteacher of Jebel Ali Primary School.

“It’s a choice that parents can make. Some schools don’t charge. Then, a parent should go there. But, if you want to go to a particular school, you must pay.”

The exercise, according to him, is fairly transparent, with his school informing parents that the fee is non-refundable and informs them if they have "any chance" at securing a seat.

The parents, however, weren't accepting of how some schools blatantly ignored any such exercise, and accepted the fee but never got back to them.

In fact, they agreed, unanimously, that they are OK to shell out the registration fee, if it guaranteed them a spot in the school or if it was refunded when their child didn’t make the cut.

The lengthy waiting list is another issue that was highlighted by parents, with many complaining about how most schools lack transparency in their explanation.

“It depends on individual schools,” added Jonanthan.

With waiting lists for many schools running up until 2017, most panelists felt the decision to restrict the admission timeline to 12-months would efficiently combat this issue and allow every parent an equal opportunity at good education.

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