UAE school admissions – 75 seats... 4,500 apply

An Indian school in Abu Dhabi draws lots to allocate admissions for new students

Getting admitted to a school is like winning a lottery. At least, it is at a highly reputed school in Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Indian School, which offers the CBSE curriculum, opened its admission process through a lot system last week, which will continue this week as well.
 
“The Draw Dates for the Admission 2013-2014 for classes KG-1 and Std-1 will be held on 11-02-2013 and for Classes 2 to 8 will be held on 19-02-2013,” read the official announcement on the school’s website.
 
So do you stand a chance? Many parents who lost out in the lucky draw are baffled by how schools can resort to such archaic methods for admission.
 
“I attended the draw held at Abu Dhabi Indian school, which was attended by around 4,500 applicants. But, only 75 lucky students got the admission,” a parent wrote in to 'Emirates24|7'.
 
“It’s unfair that a child’s future is determined by a lucky draw,” added another parent.
 
When this website spoke with a staff in the school’s admissions department, they acknowledged that they did issue a draw for new admissions.
 
“Parents are first asked to register online, and then submit a printout of the confirmation sheet to the school. Once that is completed, the staff puts an official stamp on the paper, and files it for the main draw,” elaborated the administrator.
 
“This year, we have successfully selected 75 students,” she added.
 
The staffer, however, was unable to reason why such a method was being used to allot new seats.
 
The principal of the school was unavailable for comment.
 
The reader added that securing kindergarten admission in the capital is turning out to be nightmarish for many parents.
 
“There are very limited seats for KG1 students in CBSE curriculum this year in Abu Dhabi.
 
“This year, Sunrise English Private School, Our Own English High School and St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi did not even take any new students for KG1.
 
“And, other schools like Bhavans, Emirates International School and New Model School are already packed and have a long waiting list.”
 
When Emirates 24|7 cross-checked, we found the information accurate.
 
Parents struggling to find a slot for their toddler are hoping that the officials “could step in and allot additional seats or shifts to the existing school”.
 
  • Twitter
  • submit to reddit

Comments

  • shine abdul majeed 24 April 2013 17:43 1 0
    i am an indian family living in abudhabi.my elder son didnt get any admission for 5th std.what will i do? younger child is studying here. now also i am trying.if anybody having any information about school seats availability for fifth std. in any indian school in abudhabi,please give information and help us if u can..
  • THAMEEM MUSTAFA 26 March 2013 17:07 0 0
    My two kids are studying in ADIS. XI and II, Now I am looking for admission for my daughter for KG- I tried for ADIS siblings quote, but I didn’t get a chance in the draw I tred again for the general quote draw, That also no chance - So were we can send ?
  • George 13 March 2013 09:56 1 0
    No responses to this big issue, only the welthy people with some hold with school athorities getting admission?. How can solve this problem?....
  • girish 19 February 2013 06:25 4 0
    All the school saying there is no seat for KG1 & KG2.So were we can send these childrens to study.
  • Sham 18 February 2013 17:43 2 0
    I hope that the authorities will kindly look into that matter to make more seats available. Now all the Villa school are closed and most of the schools are not taking admission. Only 4 Indian schools have taken admission for around 300 students while the application in one school is 4,500. I sincerely wish the authorities to kindly look into this as soon as possible.
  • Bijoy 18 February 2013 10:28 5 0
    I applied for my daughter this year, but unfortunately didn't get the seat.Also other schools have already closed the admissions.But yes if you have some high profile recommendations,you can get addmission to other schools (except ADIS).One correction :This year none of the schools charged applicants for registration in Abudhabi.
  • Ramnath 17 February 2013 12:47 4 5
    If you don't do that how will you justify the 4500 applications received by the school for just 75 seats? The logic is so simple! The school might have already earned a whopping AED 2,250,000 just by accepting applications (assuming they charge AED 500 / application) whereas they should have accepted just 75 applications which will earn just AED 37,500.
  • Nisha 17 February 2013 10:44 5 7
    Seriously, this is unfair. How can a draw determine whether your child will go to a specific school or not. Admission should be determined by merit... not by luck.

Have your say

Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual/s whose content is submitted. DMI accepts no responsibility for the content of comment/s, including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site.

By submitting your comments you agree to this website's Terms & Conditions

Type in the characters you see in the picture below.

Videos

Follow
Emirates 24|7

Follow
Emirates 24|7
Google+ Facebook Twitter RSS

Most Popular in News

Latest jobs available

More jobs on Emirates 24|7

In Case You Missed It ...