Dubai school to refund re-enrolment fee if students fail to secure Gems admission

Gems Winchester School in Oud Mehta informed that if students of Grade 9 did not find admission in any of their school network, their Dh900 re-enrolment fee will be refunded.
 
Last week, the school principal had informed the parents of their failure in securing approval to start Grade 10 for the new academic year.
 
Parents unhappy with the sudden development had questioned why the school had collected the re-enrolment fee when they hadn’t got the go-ahead.
 
“If they (parents) choose to go to a non-GEMS school, we will reimburse the re-enrollment fee,” confirmed a spokesperson for Gems.
 
For those securing admission in a Gems school, “their files (will be) transferred to the new school, and the money paid will be transferred to the new school”.
 
The school has also decided to waive the application fees for students enrolling in schools of the Gems network.
 
The school authorities added that the displaced students are now given priority admission in Gems - Westminster in Sharjah and  Westminster in Al Qusais.
 
Both Winchester and Westminster (in Al Qusais) have been graded ‘acceptable’ in Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) annual grading system. The Sharjah school does not fall under the Dubai education authority’s jurisdiction.
 
The spokesperson from Gems added that other schools from Gems network are also looking to offer possible seats for the Winchester students.
 
“The principal has made himself available to meet with parents and tackle specific issues they may be having and working with other Gems Schools to accommodate their needs,” the spokesperson said.
 
Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) informed that the school was rejected as it did not meet the criteria for approval.
 
“Following Gems Winchester’s performance which resulted in an ‘Acceptable’ rating in DSIB’s 2013-14 report, the school was given recommendations for improvement before addition of grades could be granted,” informed Mohammed Darwish, chief of regulations and permits commission at KHDA.
 
He added that schools wishing to expand must be rated ‘good’ by Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB).
 
“KHDA will consider approving the addition of the next grade only after the school’s performance has improved.”

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