Another Indian school in UAE asked to close

The future of 570 students has been thrown into jeopardy after yet another Indian school in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was ordered to shut down at the end of the current academic year.

The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has ordered the closure of The Little Flower Private School in Abu Dhabi, effective from the 2014-15 academic year, the Gulf News reported. This is part of its clampdown on villa schools or schools run on designated residential plots, the paper said. The ADEC started the clampdown for avowed safety reasons in 2008 when there were 72 such schools.

According to the report, with the closure of the Abu Dhabi school, it will be an uphill task for parents to find an alternative place for their children. Some of them are now trying to secure seats in schools in India. Rajesh Kumar, 38, said he was looking for school seats in Kerala for his nine-year-old boy who was studying in The Little Flower Private School.

"I had a very difficult time finding a seat for my son in KG 1... Now that (the school) is closing, I do not think I can go through the process of finding another school seat again, especially as even more schools have closed down by now," Kumar was quoted as saying. "I also know of many other parents who cannot send their families back to India for a variety of reasons.They are very much concerned."

The school management has assured parents all possible help and said there was no need to panic. "Our humble request to the parents is to have a little more patience as there is absolutely no need to panic or run around looking for seats before March 2013," school principal Mary Thomas said.

"I'm sure the ADEC will help pupils to get into Indian (curriculum) schools after March, or will make alternative arrangements to accommodate the displaced students into schools with Indian (curriculum)," she added. Thomas said the school received the circular in July when the majority of families were away on vacation. "So the circular was sent to parents when the school reopened in September," she added.