NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE ; THE NATIONAL

 
 
Indian schools overwhelmed by demand

  
The Abu Dhabi Indian School, where pupils sat exams yesterday, received more than 2,300 applications for 120 places this year, and chose pupils by lottery. Andrew Henderson / The National

ABU DHABI - MAR 09:A serious shortage of places at Indian schools in the capital is forcing parents to send their children abroad to be educated.

Officials at the Indian Embassy are calling on the Government to intervene as thousands of children are without a place at schools overwhelmed with applications.

More than 3,500 children are on the waiting list at Our Own English High School, Abu Dhabi, double the number last year.

Even smaller schools such as the Little Flower Private School, which operates in a villa, has more than 600 children on its waiting list.

“The demand for admissions has become worse this year,” said George Mathew, the principal of Our Own English High School, Abu Dhabi. “Abu Dhabi is fast expanding and there is room for quite a few Indian curriculum schools. This phenomenon is only going to grow.”

Gems Education, the owner of Our Own English High School, Abu Dhabi, is in discussions with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) about moving the school, which is in two large villas.

Desperate parents have resorted to sending their children back to India to continue their schooling or paying for a home tutor if their child cannot secure a place.

Dr Pradeep Rajpurohit, the second secretary at the Indian Embassy, said: “We are trying to approach the authorities concerned here in Abu Dhab. This is a very serious problem because our community is growing.”

The number of schools and available places has been constant as demand grew, Dr Rajpurohit said, adding that the embassy would be going through the “proper diplomatic channels” to address the situation.

School operators said they had asked Adec to allow them to add more places and some would like to run evening school. Vijay Mathu, the principal of the not-for-profit Abu Dhabi Indian School, said: "If they can allow us to increase the class strength by a few more, that could help a lot more students in getting admission in school."

The school this year received more than 2,300 applications for 120 open places, and chose pupils by lottery.

The academic year for Indian schools in the UAE begins next month and many parents are panicking. Some are sending their families back to India or considering relocating to Dubai, where school places are available.

Denny John, an engineer from Kerala, has not seen his wife or eight-year-old son Ryan for a year after sending his family home when they could not find a school place.

“I’ve never been separated from my family,” Mr John said. “I cannot concentrate on work because there is too much tension. This is a very bad situation. I feel isolated and lonely but there is no option. I cannot leave the job.”

Aneze Binu Salim, a long-time resident of Abu Dhabi who is looking for a place for his six-year-old daughter, said: “A lot of people are waiting for admission. Today I went to the school, there were more than 10 or 15 families there waiting.”

Mr Salim said he would send his family back to India if he could not find a school place. “There is no other solution,” he said. “It will be hard without my family. My daily routine, everything, will change.”

One principal, who asked to remain anonymous, said parents were coming to the school and breaking down in tears. “They are pleading with you, some of them are crying, ‘Please, give us one seat for my child’,” the principal said.

Yousif al Sheryani, the executive director-designate for private schools at Adec, said the council was aware of “long-standing” concerns over the number of Indian curriculum schools in the UAE.

Mr al Sheryani said the council, “is actively looking into long-term solutions for the problem. It is a complex issue and we appreciate the patience and support of the community as plans are still in the stages of being finalised”.

A second principal, who also requested anonymity, said: “You shouldn’t wait until March to try to solve this problem, when schools are starting in another few weeks’ time. In my estimate there are more than 3,000 children without seats right now.”

The principal added that he believed the plight of children from poor families were being overlooked.

But Mr al Sheryani said the council was “concerned about the education of all students in Abu Dhabi, regardless of socio-economic condition”.

The problem, he said, was that “historically, there have been fewer private school operators who apply to provide low-income education, which has led to the existing capacity issue”.

As part of its long-term strategy, Adec has offered one Indian businessman land and an empty building for a school.

The crisis could also be eased if the Abu Dhabi Indian School were allowed to proceed with plans to build a new campus and construct new buildings on its existing site.

But some school operators say the problem will grow as the Indian population expands and Adec proceeds with a plan, first announced in September 2008, to close schools in villas. Those schools educate about 45,000 students.

Only five Indian schools in the capital are run in proper school buildings. Although Adec has suggested that some of those schools may be able to move to unused government school buildings, no further plans have been announced.

According to some principals, new government standards for school buildings, which require various health and safety features, will deter investors from opening Indian schools because the low fees make profits unlikely. They claim the new standards may lead to even more severe shortages.

Mr al Sheryani insisted the council would not cut corners. “It is Adec’s responsibility to ensure that basic health and safety and educational standards are met in schools in the emirate in order to protect our children,” he said.

The shortages were worsened, several principals say, by the closure of the Merryland Kindergarten, and the fact that the Sherwood Academy will not take new Indian curriculum students.

Mr John said he hoped the Government would come up with a plan to open a number of quality Indian schools.

He said the shortage was so severe that parents had no choice but to send their children to low-quality schools if they wanted to stay together as a family.

Ullas Vazhappillya, a finance manager and long-time Abu Dhabi resident, cannot find a place for his daughter who is going into grade 11.

Mr Vazhappillya said 300 students were on waiting lists for grade 11. His situation was exacerbated by the fact that a number of Indian schools only teach up to grade 10.

“It is a very sad kind of situation,” Mr Vazhappillya said of the prospect of sending his wife and three children back to Kerala. “She will be alone taking care of my three children, and she will have a very difficult time.”

action was needed quickly, he said. “We are talking about less than one month. If they do give an approval or a solution the schools can start admitting the people. They have to do it on an urgent basis.”

Six months on, 'Metro changed our lives’

DUBAI - MAR 09: Six months to the day since the first passengers used the Dubai Metro, commuters say it has changed their lives as well as saved them money.

While many have remained loyal to their cars since 09/09/09, when 10 of the 29 stations on the Red Line opened, others are relieved to have an alternative to the emirate’s busy roads.

Jahangar Isaev, from Uzbekistan, who lives near BurJuman Centre in Bur Dubai and works as a customer representative at Dubai Mall, next to Burj Khalifa, said: “I used to spend between Dh400 and Dh500 a month before the Metro opened

“Before the Metro it could have taken up to two hours to get to work. If I was late or was in a rush I had no other option but to get a taxi and spend Dh20 to Dh30.

“A bus would just take too long and would be stuck in traffic the whole way. The Metro has changed my life and now I have a lot more time to myself. I know I will be at my job in 25 minutes.”

Figures provided by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) show that 10 million passengers used the Metro within its first five months of operation.

Safat Sherif, 20, a student at the Canadian University of Dubai, said he no longer felt pressure to apply for his driving licence.

“I know I don’t have to sit in traffic now on a bus that could take up to two hours to travel from Sharjah to the campus,” Mr Sherif said.

He still takes a bus from Sharjah to Rashidiya station, but the length of his commute has been cut in half. And what formerly was a Dh7 trip now costs him only Dh4.50.

Not everyone is convinced of the Metro’s advantages, however. Ricardo Recco, 28, from Brazil, said he had never boarded the Metro. “I drive to work and had never had a need to use it,” he said.

That could change when the airport stations open. “I work at the airport, so if Terminal 1 station opens, I might use it,” he said.

Eleven Metro stations are in use. Seven of the remaining 18 incomplete stations will open on April 25, the RTA said last month. By then, construction will be complete on all 29 stations on the Red Line.

However, of the near-finished stations, only Emirates, Airport Terminal 1, GGICO, Al Karama, World Trade Centre, Marina and Ibn Battuta will be ready for passengers.

Ramadan Abdulla Mohammed, the director of rail operations at the RTA, said the number of passengers is likely to rise with the opening of “key stations” such as Airport Terminal 1.

Officials expect 35 million passengers to have used the system by the end of this year. The completion of the Metro’s second line, the Green, has been pushed back to August next year.

The Metro’s impact has been felt by businesses as well as residents. Fuad Sharaf, the vice president at Mall of the Emirates, said: “There is a definite increase in the number of visitors since the Metro opened, particularly as our station is the busiest stop on the Red Line. Being close to the Metro certainly offers convenience to our shoppers and an inexpensive way to visit us.”

Tourists are also riding the rails, not as an attraction but as a means to get around the city, Mr Mohammed said. Marcus Stephenson, associate professor of tourism management at Middlesex University Dubai, said the business-tourism industry “will perhaps welcome the Metro, allowing business travellers and delegates ease of mobility to the many hotels and conference venues” that are near stations.

The cost of the Red and Green lines will have risen from Dh15.5 billion (US$4.2bn) to an estimated Dh28bn by the time the two tracks are complete next year.

 
Pink is extra-profitable for drivers of ladies-only taxis

AL AIN - MAR 09: As a regular taxi driver for Q-Link Transportation, Flordeliza Ramos of the Philippines had no restrictions on what sort of passengers she could pick up. But when she was assigned to drive one of Al Ain’s first taxis reserved for women, she saw her income cut in half.

“Before, I could drive around and pick up anyone, but now when a man flags me on the street I can’t stop for him,” she said.

The dip in income did not last long. Ms Ramos is one of the 15 female taxi drivers in Al Ain who cater specifically to women and children, and they make an average of Dh12,000 (US$3,300) a month, according to one company’s local manager. That compares favourably to the Dh8,000 average for male drivers.

Ms Ramos, 31, no longer worries about not making her minimum target. She said she is “getting many personal calls from women so I don’t have to drive around all day looking for women customers. When I don’t have any calls for personal service I just park and wait at a hospital or supermarket.

“The ladies feel safe with me and I feel safe with them. It’s a good system.”

The “Ladies Taxi” service recently introduced in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain features cars marked by a neon pink sign on the roof and stylish pink swirls on the sides.

In January, TransAD, the emirate’s taxi regulator, ordered each taxi company to introduce 10 specialised cars in Al Ain by the end of this month. None of the companies has fully complied with the order.

Abdullah al Shamsi, the Al Ain fleet manager for Q-Link, has three ladies taxis in Al Ain and one in Abu Dhabi. He hopes to have 20 pink taxies in Al Ain, eventually.

“There is a high demand for this service, especially in Al Ain where families tend to be more traditional,” Mr al Shamsi said. “Q-Link recognized the need for lady drivers long ago, as male heads of households and women asked for it.”

Zein el Abdine Faraj, the Al Ain manager of Tawasul Transport, said the 15 female taxi drivers in Al Ain bring in half as much again as the Dh8,000 the men there make. He said 20 women drive pink cabs in Abu Dhabi city.

For Fatima Halawani, 31, an Egyptian wife and mother, the new service in Al Ain is a blessing. Although she drives, her family owns only one car which her husband takes to work everyday. Sometimes he also works the night shift as a nurse.

“Many times I have had problems with male taxi drivers looking at me in the mirror or talking to me, asking inappropriate questions,” Mrs Halawani said. “I complained to my husband many times about them and for a while he wouldn’t let me take taxis until I met a woman taxi driver. I called her when I needed a taxi but she wasn’t always available for me.

“But now with the ladies taxi service, there is always a woman driver available. This is a good service that has made my life so much easier.”

Police chief puts full blame on parents of teen's killers

DUBAI - MAR 09: The Deputy Police Chief attacked the parents of the teenagers who allegedly stabbed to death an Emirati boy, saying it was the adults' fault their children did not have “good values”.

Ali Mohammed Hassan, 13, was stabbed to death by a group of teenagers outside his home in Al Rashidiya on Thursday, police say. Five suspects are in custody.

“I put the full responsibility on the parents of the perpetrators, because they did not bring up their children with good values and morals,” said Maj Gen Khamis al Mazeina.

“They did not teach them how to respect their peers and did not teach them how to deal without violence.”

He said a conflict between two groups of teenagers that apparently led to the killing should have been reported to the police.

“Both the victim and the perpetrators’ parents made a mistake by not reporting the initial fight.”

He said some of the relatives of those detained were police officers, suggesting they should have known that carrying knives is illegal. But he denied Dubai had a gang problem.

On Sunday, in response to the horrific killing, Dubai Police announced it would tighten the screws on young people who are suspected of possessing blades.

Any found carrying “any sharp tool” will be arrested and second-time offenders will be referred to the court, Gen al Mazeina said. Teenagers needed to be better monitored to prevent such incidents, he added.

Fights have been reported in areas such as Satwa, Al Warqa, Oud al Muteena. In most cases, teenage boys have been known to pick fights or mug people.

Police released new details about Thursday night’s events yesterday. The five teenagers who have been arrested were specifically looking for Ali’s home, they said. He was stabbed with a knife that had a 30cm-long blade, they added.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the governing body for schools in Dubai, expressed concern yesterday over a lack of support for teenagers in the emirate.

Fatma al Marri, the chief executive of the Dubai Schools Agency at the KHDA, said: “We are sure the Ministry of Education shares our concern about the lack of social workers in our public schools.

“We are aware that some children and their families need professional support and guidance on a day-to-day basis. We would like to see our school children surrounded by care and support for whatever situation they find themselves in.”

Ms al Marri said the agency was willing to work with the police, school staff, parents, community leaders and whoever might be able to help prevent such a tragedy occurring again. “That would be the best memorial we could give to this young victim,” she said.

Obaid al Taher, principal at the Mohammed Noor Boys’ School, which Ali attended, said he had never encountered such a brutal attack in his career as an educator.

He also said parents needed to guide their children better.

“Parents have to take time to raise their children,” he said. “We say that mother is the first school for a child. Parents have to watch their children.”

Although Mr al Taher said he had never seen students carrying serious weapons at his school, he called gangs in Dubai a “problem” that could not be ignored.

Dr Raymond Hamdan, a clinical and forensic psychologist at the Human Relations Institute in Dubai, said a small percentage of teens exposed to violent images in movies and on television – between two and five per cent – will emulate them.

“Crime, sex and profanity are sell-able. These days, young people are exposed to television, gaming programmes and movies in which crime is heavily rewarded.

“When they keep watching such visuals, it extinguishes their sense of moral understanding and development.” Places of worship and the educational system can play a role, he added.

Dr Hamdan also said there should be young offender programmes to help troubled teenagers integrate back into society.

“Even though psychologists have an explanation for what is happening, there is no excuse for murder,” he said.