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Abu Dhabi: About 400 pupils and 28 employees, including teachers, of a private school face uncertainty after the management of the school decided to switch to a completely different curriculum. Modern Pakistani School, a 14-year-old institute which has been offering affordable education to pupils from low-income families, is on the verge of closure after the management changed the school licence and its name. In its new premises the school will be called Abu Dhabi Australian School with a complete team of new staff members, including an Australian principal. The management has already served termination notices to 23 teachers, as it thinks they will not be able to fit in the new setup. The Gulf News team, visiting the school on Sunday, was greeted by a number of pupils crying, "please, please help us save our school from being closed".
The management had recently applied for the introduction of the Australian system along with the Pakistani curriculum being taught at the school.
The Ministry of Education refused to grant permission to follow two different systems under a single administration and premises as per the rules, the management opted for the Australian system. A senior official at the school said the management had made several requests to the ministry to allow them to operate the current school at least for another academic year until all terms and conditions are met. "We have asked the ministry for permission to allow us to complete the next academic year so we can meet all the requirements, including moving into a new school building. This will also help our teachers to continue working. Unfortunately our requests have been turned down," a senior administrator told Gulf News. An official at the ministry said permission will be granted if the two systems are taught in two different premises under two different administrations. Parents of the students since receiving the circular about the school's closure have been hunting for a new sponsor and investor to take over the school. An investor, Essam Al Sharif, agreed to take over the school but his application has been turned down by the ministry. Under the ministry rules, schools cannot be transferred from one management to another. According to an official, the investor can only run the school with a fresh application starting all the procedures from the beginning. Exorbitant fees under new system and dim prospects of transfer to other schools A majority of pupils at Modern Pakistani School are from families with low income. The school has a kindergarten and teaches till Grade 8.
Its monthly tuition fee ranges from Dh100 to Dh200, whereas the new Australian school is likely to charge more than Dh1,000, which the current pupils cannot afford. A number of students and parents interviewed expressed their grievances over the closure of the school and have requested the local authorities to intervene and save the school from being shut. The only option they have is to take admission in three other schools in Abu Dhabi offering Pakistani system of education. A teacher at the school said two of these schools have already refused to take the pupils due to lack of capacity. Bakhtawar Shafique, a student of Grade 8, said: "I was shocked when we received the circular ... suggesting the current set-up of the school will be closed .... I have all my friends here and want to spend my last year here with them." Mariam Rashid of Grade 7 said she studied in the school from kindergarten.
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