5 pupils expelled from Dubai schools in 2011

Five pupils were expelled from schools in Dubai last year, a senior official told Gulf News. A total of five cases of expulsion of students were brought to the notice of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) during the academic year 2011-2012, Mohammad Darwish, Chief of Regulation and Compliance Commission at the KHDA, said. All the cases were related to disciplinary action taken by the schools, he said. "A school may permanently remove a student from its rolls for disciplinary reasons such as crime, dishonesty, act of dishonour, damage to school property, regular or continued absence from school or if the student exceeds the maximum school-going age," he said. However, before doing so, the school must inform the KHDA about its decision to expel the student. While schools have the right to deny re-registering a student for a new academic year if the fees have not been paid, institutions cannot expel a student in the middle of the academic year for reasons related to non-payment of fees, he said. Flouting regulations The KHDA would intervene in the issue only if the regulations are not followed. KHDA's comments came as an Emirati parent complained to the authority earlier this month that his three children had been expelled from the Repton School in the middle of the academic year over non-payment of fees. The father owed the school a total of Dh410,000, which is the tuition fees for two academic years for his children in grades 10, 8 and 7. He managed to pay Dh78,000 over the past few months, reducing the dues to Dh332,000. Following the complaint, KHDA held talks with the school, which then accepted a further Dh20,000 from the father and allowed the children back, after the father committed to settling the dues soon. The father said that although he has made a commitment, he is yet to find the financial means to pay up. "Schools have a right to receive school fees in return for the education provided and parents have a responsibility to pay the fees. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, KHDA urges that the school and the parents engage with each other to ensure that they reach an arrangement that is suitable for both," Darwish said. "However, a school cannot expel a student in the middle of the academic year for reasons related to non-payment of fees."