Closure should be a last resort for schools

Even an underperforming institution has valuable assets that could be salvaged

Al Worood Academy Private School will close at the end of the academic year. (Silvia Razgova / The National)

The circumstances surrounding the impending closure of Al Worood Academy Private School have been well documented. Al Worood was the scene of tragedy when a three-year-old girl died after being locked inside a school bus, but the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) has linked the decision to revoke the school’s operating licence in August to its consistently poor academic performance.

Adec is helping to find new places for Al Worood's 2,000 pupils, but some families have told The National that the transfer arrangements are not going well. One parent said his children were offered places at a school that charges twice as much as Al Worood and a change would be unduly disruptive for his eldest child, who is about to start his final year.

There is no doubt that despite having reasonable notice of the closure, most Al Worood pupils and their families will face some disruption. The reward, however, should be a superior education to the one they had been receiving.

Certainly, Adec – and education authorities in other emirates – must retain the power to shut down a school that consistently underperforms. However, when management or academic failures occur, surely some aspects of the school are salvageable – including many of the better teachers and other staff, as well as the school’s buildings and facilities.

Shutting down a school entirely means both the loss of human capital – many expatriate teachers will return home or go elsewhere to work – and valuable infrastructure. In the case of Al Worood, closure means the loss of two libraries, six science laboratories, three computer labs, music rooms, a gymnasium, performance stage, children's play area and a small football pitch.

Adec took over Al Worood to administer its closure. This could be a model for the future, but in an even more proactive way – a rescue mission for faltering schools, in effect. If schools fail to reach performance benchmarks, new management and systems could be installed instead of closing the school. If it is impossible for Adec to nurse the school back to health, other potential operators – either businesses or community groups – might want to take over.

Closing a school, disrupting pupils, staff, families and entire communities, should only ever be a last resort.