DUBAI // Parents are welcoming the proposed move of the Jebel Ali Village school, saying it will improve the quality of their children’s education.
Jebel Ali Primary School has been in the same location for more than three decades, but it was recently announced that it would relocate next year.
The move to a new building near the Akoya development near Arabian Ranches will allow the school to expand and also to offer secondary education.
Misbah Fehmi has one child at the school and welcomed the move, although she said it would take her longer to do the school run.
“We are in Jumeirah Park, so it only takes around five minutes to get to the school,” said Ms Fehmi, a Pakistani.
“It will probably extend it to 25 minutes but it will be against traffic, so I don’t think it will be that much of a problem.
“We’ll have to travel a bit further but it’s great news that there is a new school.”
The premises are needed as the school was showing its age and could not expand further, Ms Fehmi said.
“Another good thing is that they aren’t going to increase the school fees after the move, which is a big relief.”
Fellow Jumeirah Park resident Sobia Ansari said waking up a little earlier to make the school run would be worth it for the improved standards of education for her child.
“I guess not everyone is going to be happy about the move because the school has been here for a long time and change can be difficult to handle,” said Ms Ansari, also a Pakistani.
“But in the long run it is the right move as we will have more facilities for the children and they will receive a better education.”
Such a view was echoed by other parents taking their children to school.
“I don’t know that much about it apart from the fact that they are moving to a new location,” said a British parent dropping off his daughter.
“It’s great news for us because we are in the Arabian Ranches area, so it will make it a lot easier for us to do the school run.
“The current school is an old building and we’ve needed a new one for a while. I believe the new premises will be expanded to include a secondary school and that is something we have needed for a long time.”
A British mother of two said it would be convenient to have the school close to where she lived.
“I don’t think you’ll please everyone as I’m sure there are some parents who live in and around this area and they will have to travel further to take their children to school,” the mother said.
She noted that many of the pupils were from outside of the Jebel Ali area.
“The school has needed to expand for some time now and I don’t think they have been able to do that here,” she said.
“They have plans to have homework classes and a breakfast club for parents and I think these kinds of things can only benefit the children.”
While the school would not confirm when it would open at its new location, many parents gave the date as September next year.
nhanif@thenational.ae
