DUBAI // Parents hoping to get their children into some of the leading private schools in Dubai spend thousands of dirhams in multiple application fees, despite efforts to ban schools from demanding the payments.
Last year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KDHA), which oversees schools in Dubai, warned them not to impose registration fees of more than Dh500 (US$130) .
However, the charges are not illegal under existing federal bylaws, and this year there has been no warning statement from the KDHA. The fees have become an expense on top of basic costs for instruction.
Because many schools are oversubscribed, many parents take the precaution of applying for multiple schools. Otherwise, these parents fear, they risk failing to secure a place for their child anywhere.
"Parents are paying this fee because they are terrified of missing out on a place for their child and having nowhere to go," said one parent of a child going into secondary school. Like many parents, she did not want to be named for fear of harming her child's chance of a place.
The fees are a particular problem for parents whose children attend British primaries that are not attached to secondary schools. This means that, unless they secure a place, their 11-year-old child could be left without schooling.
"Parents are hedging their bets by putting their children's names down at multiple schools, which fuels the frenzy that your child may miss out on a place for year seven," the mother said, referring to the first year of secondary school. Most British secondary schools had hundreds on waiting lists for year seven, she said.
Before a new set of Ministry of Education bylaws was introduced in 2008, regulations limited "registration" fees to Dh500 and prohibited schools from taking deposits.
The subject is not addressed in the current, 2008 bylaws.
Once an offer has been made, many schools also demand deposits, which are usually non-refundable, to secure the place.
Another Dubai mother with a child going into secondary school said: "My problem isn't so much with paying a deposit, it's the timing. Not all of the schools are offering places at the same time.
"Our first choice isn't offering places until the end of this month. Other schools are offering them before then.
"It's very unsettling. If we don't pay the deposits for the second- or third-choice schools we might not have a place."
She said the deposits came on top of application fees.
Allan Forbes, the head teacher at the English College in Dubai, which requires a Dh4,000 non-refundable deposit, defended the fee. He said he was awaiting clarification from the authorities on whether schools were allowed to charge deposits above Dh500.
Peter Daly, the head teacher at the Dubai English Speaking College, suggested that parents should not be allowed to register their children at multiple schools.
"Imagine if 50 of those children don't turn up in September and we've recruited staff," he said.
He said the not-for-profit school was "not making money out of this".
He added: "We want to do it so we can guarantee our places for next year. Especially in this climate we want to know: have we got our numbers or haven't we?"
Jumeirah College charges an optional Dh5,000 fee to secure a place. The fee goes toward class instruction if the child enrols and is fully refundable if he does not.
Richard Forbes, the director of marketing and communications at Gems Education, which owns the school, said it was very difficult "to manage waiting lists efficiently because the school operators are unable to differentiate between parents who are on their waiting lists as an insurance policy", and those who are genuinely committed to their school.
One mother pointed to the difficulty caused by schools making their offers at different times. Dubai College, one of the most selective British schools in Dubai, will not make offers until the end of this month.
"The differing deadlines of the offers make it difficult to make a decision, particularly where payment of a sizeable non-refundable security deposit is involved," the mother said.
Another mother said she had put down Dh900 for two application fees.
"It's very stressful," she said of the last few months trying to get her child into a secondary school.
She was more philosophical, however, about the deposit she lost because her child was accepted to her first-choice school.
"I think the schools do have a right to ask for a deposit," she said. "It just needs to be a little more flexible."
klewis@thenational.ae
The English College Dh300 application, Dh4,000 non-refundable deposit
Repton Dh1,500 non-refundable registration
Dubai English Speaking School Dh300 non-refundable registration, Dh2,000 refundable deposit
Dubai English Speaking College Dh300 non-refundable registration, Dh3,000 refundable deposit
Jumeirah College Dh500 registration, Dh5,000 refundable deposit
Dubai College Dh500 non-refundable registration
Kings Dubai Dh500 application, Dh3,000 non-refundable deposit
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Company%20Profile
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now