Fee dispute as readiness of school is questioned

Parents wonder if Dubai Modern High School's new campus will open on schedule.

A family visits the new campus of Dubai Modern High School.

DUBAI // A private school provider and Dubai education authorities were still locked in a dispute over fees last night as parents wondered if the new Dubai Modern High School campus would open on schedule tomorrow. An announcement is expected today by the Global Education Management Systems (Gems) on whether the school will be ready to open to the 2,400 pupils on the roll.

When The National visited the site at Nad al Sheeba yesterday, facilities appeared to be closer to completion than they were during an inspection last week. But hundreds of desks and chairs from the old campus remained stacked outside, and classrooms were not fully set up. Nor were the school library and computer suites. The football field and science laboratories are believed to be ready, but the swimming pool will not be operational by tomorrow. Neither will the track and cricket pitches.

Richard Forbes, the director of communications and marketing for Gems, was insisting yesterday that "Gems believes this facility is the best Indian day school in the world". Parents looking round the multi-million dirham school, housed on large plot of land near the Repton School, seemed less enthusiastic. "This is Gems usual high-handed reaction to parents with absolute lack of any duty of care towards us," Ray Chaudhuri, a member of a parent committee formed in January in opposition to the school's proposals for a huge fee increase.

"It's not fair because they failed in their duty to complete their job." Ashu Bansar, who has two children in the school, said he hoped Gems would give parents a grace period on the fee increase. "Parents don't mind if the kids are going to the new building with some of the facilities missing, but the school should give a grace period on the fee increase of about a year. That would be adequate." The campus confusion is the latest in a long-running battle between Gems and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which oversees the educational system in Dubai.

Gems, the largest private school provider in the country, was granted permission to increase fees by 90 per cent to finance a move to Nad al Sheeba after the school received an eviction notice at its Al Wasl campus, which was located in part of the area that was set to be cleared for the now-postponed Jumeirah Garden City development. In January, Gems informed parents that it would move at the start of the Indian school year in April. Parents were notified of the fee increase at the same time. But construction was not finished on time.

Then, in mid-April, Gems notified parents that the school received a final eviction notice and was given until the end of the month to vacate. Mr Forbes said this week Gems did not renew its lease with the old landlord. "From our side why should we pay another Dh15m when our new building is ready," he claimed. The KHDA position was outlined by Mohammed Darwish, chief of licensing at the agency. "The ongoing construction activity on the site is evidence that the school is not ready in its entirety as per plan," he said in a statement.

Mr Darwish said the agency had granted Gems permission to increase fees by 90 per cent over two years based on the "readiness of the entire school as per plan". Some understood that the plan would include facilities to accommodate more than 700 additional pupils, but Gems disputes this. Mr Forbes said: "The KHDA are moving the goal posts and we are trying to understand where they are coming from."

Gems will spare no effort to try to find a solution in the next few days, he said, adding: "It invested in this facility based on a formal agreement with the KHDA that it could increase fees by 90 per cent over two years to help pay for the school." If Gems were to complete all of the facilities in the master plan, the cost would be Dh240m (US$65.3m). But Gems says the agreement with the KHDA was based on a Dh156m investment for a campus to accommodate 2,400 pupils. They say they have fulfilled their end of the bargain and should be allowed to increase fees immediately.

Mr Forbes added that the school was given a building completion certificate from the Tecon construction service company and approval from the civil defence authorities. Gems also says it spent Dh175m, which is Dh20m more than it had planned on the first phase of construction. Mr Forbes said facilities for another 1,000 pupils - which would cost Dh80m - was not part of the original agreement. "We may not decide to construct these classrooms," he said, adding that the school does not need the extra capacity at the moment. He cited the economic downturn and the impact of families leaving Dubai as factors that the company is considering in determining whether it will follow through with those plans.

Mr Forbes said it would take 18 months to complete the second phase of construction. He added that the company would take a major hit if it is not allowed to increase fees immediately.
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