ABU DHABI // The impending closure of Al Worood Academy Private School is creating problems for some parents who need to find school placements for their children in the next academic year.
With six months to go before the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, parents are encountering issues that range from finding schools with similar fees to finding schools in suitable locations.
Al Worood was ordered to close by the end of August after Nizaha Aalaa, 3, died from heat exhaustion after being locked on a school bus last October.
The Abu Dhabi Education Council said the school’s pupils – of whom there are nearly 2,000 – had been offered alternative places on and off Abu Dhabi island, taking into account location and ensuring that siblings would be moved together.
But several parents of children at the school said Adec’s proposals had not always been feasible.
Sadeq Mohammed, an American, has three children at Al Worood – Jafar, 17, Kamil, 14, and Hasan, 10. He lives in Mohammed bin Zayed City and said: “The transferring is not going well.”
Along with other parents, he received a reallocation letter from Adec offering two options for his children.
Two of the children were offered places at Emirates National School, which he said costs twice as much as what he pays now.
Another option offered a placement to only the youngest of his three children, at the Cambridge High School.
Mr Mohammed is most concerned for his oldest child, who he fears might have a tough time adjusting to a new school after five years at Al Worood.
“I don’t want to take him to a new school for his final year. He’ll have to deal with new teachers, new students. The other ones can adapt, not the oldest one,” he said.
He said he was worried about the logistical challenge of arranging transport for his children if they attended different schools.
“The reasons why we have been at Al Worood is because all the kids can be at the same school. It is easy for pick-up and drop-off,” he said.
On the decision by officials to close the school due to negligence and failing to adhere to safety standards, Mr Mohammad queried why officials did not simply appoint new management.
“This way we won’t be like refugees trying to find out where to go,” he said. “If I can’t find schooling for my kids, I’ll have to ship my family back to the United States.”
Nehad Ali, a Syrian father of three pupils, is concerned because one of his daughters suffers from an irregular heartbeat, requiring her to make frequent visits to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City. He is worried that she will be forced to study at a school far from the hospital.
“I can’t send my daughter outside Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Now, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
With two daughters at Al Worood, Nabil Shemi, an Egyptian, said one option given to him by Adec meant his education fees would more than double from nearly Dh50,000 to Dh100,000.
“It’s very frustrating to find schools that will take our children,” he said. “Adec could help us find something in the same price range. We feel like we have been let down. They could have just changed management.”
An official with Al Worood said 14 schools had been selected to receive pupils next year.
“There may be some problems, but things are going well,” he said.
Adec did not respond to questions put forward by The National.
esamoglou@thenational.ae