NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
Private Villa Schools Under Pressure
ABU DHABI - SEP 23: The tradition of using private villas as schools – some filled with more than 700 pupils – is coming under scrutiny as the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) begins inspecting 66 such facilities.
“In the old days it was easy for private schools to come and open,” said Dr Mugheer al Khaili, director general of Adec. “What’s worrying us is safety.”
In May, the Ministry of Education gave the education council authority over all Abu Dhabi private schools, part of a plan to decentralise education and give more responsibility to local councils such as Adec in Abu Dhabi and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai.
The education council is also looking into closing government-run evening schools, which see pupils attending classes late in the day, and moving them to regular day facilities.
The Government first addressed the issue of villa schools in 1999 when a Ministry of Cabinet Affairs decree ordered that they be phased out. Nearly a decade later, dozens of villa schools still remain in Abu Dhabi, while there are only two left in Dubai.
One of the first actions taken by the KHDA when it was given authority over Dubai’s private schools in April last year was to begin shutting down its 17 villa schools. In one case the agency helped to locate new school places, but the other schools moved to new premises and their pupils moved with them.
They were not given any assistance by the KHDA to do so.
Dr Khaili said the first inspections in Abu Dhabi showed that the villa schools, which were originally licensed by the Ministry of Education and cater for the children of low- and middle-income workers, many from the Indian subcontinent, had qualified principals and teaching staff who were operating out of substandard facilities.
“Safety of children is more important than anything else,” said Dr Khaili.
Most schools, where children crowd into villas intended to house four or five people, have poor airconditioning systems. None has playgrounds or sporting facilities.
“The schools are in the middle of a community,” said Dr Khaili. “It’s very dangerous for the children to go out – maybe they will be hit by cars.”
In the past, private schools were allowed to operate as long as they had a licence from the ministry, and some have since swollen in size without expanding facilities. Sharaf al Hashemi, the deputy director of the Pioneers International Private School, one of several Filipino villa schools in Abu Dhabi, said relocating the school would be difficult because tuition fees were kept so low.
“We need the Government assistance because it will cost us a huge amount, over Dh8 million (US$2.18m), because of high building costs,” said Mr Hashemi. “It’s the Government who is asking us to move from the villas into another building.”
Pioneers, with fees ranging from Dh6,285 to Dh10,000 a year, has been educating Filipino children since 1990. Little Flower Private School, which has served the Indian community since 1986, charges as little as Dh2,000 per year.
As The National has previously reported, even more well-funded Asian schools, such as those owned by Global Education Managment Systems (Gems), are struggling to expand because of rising costs and caps on tuition fees.
The Adec, which will release its plans several months after inspections are completed in November, has indicated it hopes to solve the problem within three years. Discussions have already begun on how to find “creative solutions” to the facilities problem.
In the past, private schools have operated on their own, with little help from the Government, save for a handful of not-for-profit community schools that received land years ago. Dr Khaili said schools would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and reiterated his concern about the education available to children of low-income workers.
“We care about the labourers as much as we care about the chief executives in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “We need to have affordable schools for the labourers, or the low-income people within the city, to be able to send their children to schools.”
In conjunction with the villa school inspections, Adec has developed new licensing procedures that will apply to all private schools operating in the emirate. The licensing scheme is awaiting approval from Adec’s board, with further details expected to be released shortly. In Dubai, relocated villa schools are subject to the same kind of inspections all Dubai private schools must pass. The KHDA is also working on a new licensing policy which will go into effect during the 2009-2010 school year.
The scrutiny of private education is part of a nationwide school reform programme which aims to raise standards in both the public and private sector. In July, the Ministry of Education announced that schools would be required to go through an accreditation programme or risk losing their licence.
Bank lifting ATM limits after wave of frauds
ABU DHABI - SEP. 23: A bank has begun lifting emergency limits it placed on customer account withdrawals after a wave of ATM fraud in the UAE.
Banks cancelled cards and urged people to change PIN numbers after a breach in security allowed overseas criminals to draw money from accounts and make purchases on cloned cards.
Many people were limited to amounts as small as Dh100 (US$27) a day.
HSBC said it had contacted customers about the initial frauds and limits, and its services were now returning to normal.
Jonathan Campbell James, the regional head of fraud and risk for HSBC, said: “We have introduced a special accelerated procedure for fully refunding affected UAE customers within 72 hours of registration, and are providing free replacement cards.”
However, one HSBC customer said he was still facing problems with his account.
Marc Peterson was told he would be refunded Dh9,900 lost through fraudulent transactions in the Ukraine within two days of discovery. However, he did not receive it for a further nine days – by which time he was overdrawn by Dh6,000.
“From the very start, this whole situation has been a disaster,” he said.
Families ask for cheaper homes
DUBAI - SEP. 23: Families in Dubai yesterday appealed for more time and more affordable homes as they are forced out of villas where they share accommodation with other families.
Dubai Municipality has announced a one-month deadline, ending on Oct 21, for families sharing villas to move out and find alternate housing. Notices have been sent out to villas in Jumeirah, Umm Suquiem, Rashidiya, Hor Al Anz and other areas ordering landlords to allow only one family to live in a villa at a time.
A statement from Dubai Municipality said the deadline was the final phase of the programme to “prohibit labour and bachelor accommodation as well as multi-family housing in the residential districts”.
“There are no cheap places to live in Dubai. We were shocked to receive a notice last week. We never knew we were violating the law. I think there needs to be more clarity on what is illegal because many villas have not got notices in this area,” said a resident of Umm Suquiem area, who shares the villa with another family.
The decision to house one family per villa was taken by Dubai Municipality in July and announcements have been running recently on radio and television. Officials said landlords who failed to comply would face fines of up to Dh50,000 (US$13,500) and other civic action. Hundreds of families sharing villas in Al Rashidiya area were evicted and forced to move to Sharjah and Ajman after authorities cut off utilities in July.
Beggars going straight to people’s homes
DUBAI - SEP. 23: Beggars driven from the streets by police patrols are knocking on doors to take illegally advantage of people’s generosity during Ramadan, police have warned.
In some cases groups are tricking their way into homes so they can steal money, antiques and other goods.
Brig Abdul-Jalil Mahdi, deputy director of preventive security for Dubai Police, said that while the begging clampdown had worked, it had thrown up new challenges.
“Police patrols have increased more than threefold to crack down on beggars who are known to surface during the Ramadan season,” said Brig Mahdi.
“We have arrested many with crutches, some will wear leg casts,” he said. “Many have medical records of surgery needed to help save ‘dying’ mothers. Others will hire children from their family or neighbours.
“It is always discovered that it is a lie. Those people are healthy and just making up an excuse to take advantage and deceive members of the public.”
Brig Mahdi warned that some criminals were determined and knew what they were doing.
“They could strike at any time of the day and in every place imaginable,” he said. “They would circulate in the souks, shopping centres, neighbourhoods, mosques and could even be driving around in a car.
“Some of them, mostly women, would target people in residential areas, making door-to-door calls asking for money.
“They cannot be trusted and if they have a chance they will get into your home and steal from you.”
“I would like to call for the support of the public to fight this problem. There will be more arrests made if people would call police at the event that they come across these criminals.”
He said people should donate to charitable organisations to help the needy. Sixty-five beggars have been arrested in Dubai since the start of the holy month.
Brig Mahdi said Ramadan attracted more aggressive beggar gangs who travelled to Dubai equipped with fake medical records, falsified documents, and even children hired to use in their schemes.
“The majority are illegal immigrants, who pose a threat to society and could be carriers of diseases due to not being tested,” he said.
“They would come in with a visit visa and work here during this month. This is their job, they go to a different Arab country every year.”
Brig Mahdi added that people should never believe their stories, no matter how convincing and even if they presented “evidence” .
In Abu Dhabi, beggars are becoming increasingly discreet to avoid being caught. At Animal World on Muroor Street, The National witnessed an Arab woman wander in and approach two Arab men.
“My husband has cancer and is in hospital in Egypt. I am trying to raise money for his treatment and for a plane ticket home to be with him,” she said. “Can you help me?”
The men tried to walk away but she followed then deeper into the store and became more persistent. “May Allah protect you and your children during this holy month,” she added, extending her palm to them as they looked towards the store manager for help.
The men finally gave her Dh10 each.
Mohammed el Saeed, the manager of mobile phone shop Hello Future, said he had been visited by a Palestinian woman last week.
“She comes in three or four times a week asking for money. I don’t let her go near the customers,” Mr Saeed said. “Whenever she comes in I give her a few Dirhams as a form of zakat.”
Mr Saeed said he felt a sense of guilt when turning away a beggar, “especially when it’s a Muslim woman who has her hair covered”.