Two Abu Dhabi Schools 'Refused Permission' to Open

Two Indian curriculum schools which were scheduled to open recently are facing ongoing delays in securing permission to accept pupils, according to a report in the UAE weekly publication Xpress.

Both Ryan International School located in Masdar City and Global Indian International School (GIIS) in Baniyas were due to open their doors last month, thus providing welcome relief for parents urgently seeking school places for their children in the capital.

More than 250 students were expected to walk through the door at Ryan while GIIS hoped to welcome 850 students. Both schools informed Xpress that they had been advised by the regulator ADEC not to accept students but the schools declined to specify the reasons for this. GIIS has, according to the school’s principal, been told that it should look at an April 2016 opening date.

Parents, who had expected to drop their children at the new schools a month ago are understandably upset.

“Since May, we have been desperately waiting for the school to open. It is almost the end of June, and our kids are losing an academic year,” said a parent at Ryan International School speaking to Xpress, requesting anonymity.

Another parent said he had paid 4,500 AED as the admission and first term tuition fee. “It is not just a matter of money. The academic year has begun and seats at all schools are filled. Where will our kids go?” he asked.

The Ryan management said it is refunding the fees to parents who have made the request. The annual tuition fee for kindergarten is Dh14,000. They are hopeful, according to the principal, that they will be permitted to open in September. While Ryan are keeping their 22 teachers on standby GIIS has had to lay off the 60 teachers that they had recruited locally.