Back to School OR Back to Basics?

In a recent survey most parents of Dubai school children seemed happy about the basics; safety, transportation arrangements, learning, assessment practices, canteen food quality etc. For more details of that survey follow the link:

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/nine-in-10-parents-say-kids-safe-in-uae-schools-2012-06-27-1.464824

But when we conducted that survey, we never thought that a few months later one of the most expensive schools in Dubai (CAS) would tell some parents on Back to School day that their children would be without a teacher for an unspecified period of time.

 My colleague Heba and her husband have already splashed out AED13,000 in advance tuition fees for 4.5 year old Fares only to be told on Day One that the school has yet to appoint a teacher for at least three of its classes. What should these parents do? What CAN they do other than complain?

That is bad for the reputation of the school of course but it is also negative for the image of Dubai’s private education sector, which has been facing many debacles off late regarding the quality of its offering, the credentials of teaching staff and pricing policies.

It seems that on Back to School day we need to go Back to Basics for an education system that still has many sand dunes to climb and deserts to cross in order to reach its own oasis.