Children with children said that some of the nursery owners in Abu Dhabi deal with their facilities as if they were five star hotels, pointing to the high fee for registration of children in the nursery, where the value of hosting the child is between 50 and 80 thousand dirhams per year.
They said they divide the registration into two days a week, or three days, or five days, taking advantage of the need of working mothers to register their children, pointing to the need to control the fees of nurseries and set a limit for them, especially that nurseries do not provide an educational curriculum. They also demanded the provision of affordable fee nurseries for low-income families.
Working mothers told Emirates Al-Youm that high fees for nurseries forced them to resort to unlicensed home nurseries or to leave their children with maids, although they were aware of the danger this would have on children's health if the child was neglected or suffered Unacceptable situation.
The Department of Education and Knowledge said that the standards for preschools include provisions for the registration of infants, from birth to 4 years, in kindergarten, curriculum setting, application of policies, accessibility of parents and concerned, and commitment to provide an updated medical record for each child. Nursery clinic, in addition to the adoption of fees from the Department, and the implementation of the refund policy.
She added: "If parents want to withdraw the child from the nursery, the nursery should deduct fees for the number of days he attended only, and return the remaining amount to them».
In addition, working mothers confirmed that the fees for nurseries consume more than 50% of their salaries, pointing out that they are "higher than fees for kindergartens and schools, although their role is limited to hosting and some play and fun activities." They note that the lower the number paid monthly The level of care, cleanliness, education and diversity in the activities of the child has been reduced and is at risk.
The mother of a three-year-old child, Nada Hazem, said: "I pay my child AED 12,000 every three months, in addition to AED 1650 for breakfast and AED 2,500 for the bus (return only). "The total fee for the year exceeds Dhs55,000, other than the uniforms, school activities and concerts organized by the school for children."
Nihad Hassan said she works in the customer service department of a private company and earns 7,000 dirhams a month, of which 4,500 dirhams are paid for custody fees for her two and a half year old daughter. "The basic fee is 3,500 dirhams to host my daughter from 8:00 pm to 3:00 pm, And an additional 1,000 dirhams, hosting charges from 3pm to 4pm, because my shift ends at 4pm, "she said, adding that she was about to exceed the 5-star hotel bills.
"Most families are forced to register their children in nurseries, whether they are working mothers or housewives, especially after two years of age, because the child needs to empty his energy with children of his age who share his toys," she said.
The mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl, Mai Mohammad, said she had decided to register her child in custody after two years, but was surprised by the refusal of all preschools to count the number of hours of the day from the start of the child's arrival until her departure, (8:00 pm to 6:00 pm), which means full fees, even if the girl attended only three hours a day, noting that she had to pay 15,000 dirhams for the nursery in exchange for hosting only, without any meals or bus participation.
Reem Mohammed said she thought of enrolling her child in a nursery, but found that any fee charged by the nurseries was not less than 3,500 dirhams per month, more than half of her salary. She worked at five thousand dirhams a month, so she decided to resign and take care of her child.
Working mothers confirmed that they went to housewives to put their children in the morning, for a monthly wage ranging from 800 to 1,200 dirhams, signs that housewives receive children from one to six years old, while they can receive older children during the school holidays.
They said that they resorted to this solution despite their knowledge of its illegality, and their awareness that such hosting may pose a danger to the child because there are no adequate security requirements in place, but they find no other solution.
"The high prices paid for an Arab woman who hosted the children in her apartment, a Filipina worker helped her, and asked for 1,000 dirhams a month for her daughter," said Nora Amer, a human resources officer and graduate student and a mother of a girl. After a while I noticed that she was beginning to fear outsiders, When she went one day to kindergarten in the middle of the day, I discovered that the child's fear was due to the screaming of the homeowner and to the children.
"Prices are unreasonable, and less custody requires 2,500 dirhams per month, without adding additions," said Noha Samir. The duration of the school day is less than the number of hours of any work, whether in the private or governmental sectors, forcing the working mothers to pay an additional 1,000 dirhams to accommodate their children from the day-to-day nurseries. About 3500 dirhams per month », pointing out that her monthly salary of five thousand dirhams, forcing her to put her son in a home nursery for a thousand dirhams per month.
Officials in nurseries with whom Emirates Al-Youm went on to raise the cost of establishing and managing a nursery, said that the supervisor's salary in the nursery ranges between 5 thousand and 10 thousand dirhams, according to her experience and her testimony, pointing out that each class has a supervisor or a teacher, in addition to two assistants. Nursery is also obliged to provide medical care, various technical activities for children, besides security and hygiene, and annual rent of the place, while the number of children in the grade should not exceed 15 children.
On the other hand, the Department of Education and Knowledge, as the authority responsible for issuing licenses and monitoring the assessment of nurseries in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has responded to complaints, explained how to determine nursery fees, the conditions for establishing a nursery and the appointment of its staff and whether it has a role in monitoring unlicensed home nurseries.
The total number of nurseries in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is 244 nurseries, of which 194 are in Abu Dhabi with about 10,700 and 776 students, 43 kindergartens in the Al Ain area, comprising about two thousand and 681 students and seven nurseries in Al Dhafra area, which includes 253 students .
Registration Offers
Emirates Al-Youm has provided two-day, three-day or five-day children's incubators for children. The day is divided into four dates: 7am to 1pm, 8am to 2pm, 8am to 4pm and 8am to 6pm .
Nurses determined their fees based on the period of time chosen by the child's parents. In addition, the majority of nurseries imposed a three-month subscription system and refused to enroll in the monthly subscription system to ensure that children stayed longer. The average price of nurseries in one semester (the period of 3 months) ranged between 9 thousand and 10 thousand dirhams, compared to two days a week, each of six hours, and the fees rise to 12 thousand dirhams in the event that the time period to 9 hours in Today. If you subscribe three days a week, prices range between 10 and 12 thousand dirhams in the six hours a day, up to 14 thousand in the 10 hours a day. Prices for five days a week ranged from AED 12,500 to AED 16,000. School bus fees ranged from AED 10,000 to AED 18,000 per year. Breakfast ranges from AED 6,000 to AED 12,000 and AED 4,000 for entry To surveillance cameras and follow-up children in the nursery, AED 1,000 registration fees, and AED 500 for uniforms. Fees increase as the child ages.
Standards
The Education and Knowledge Department said in its official statement that the standards for nurseries include a range of items, including the recruitment of qualified childcare workers, adherence to occupational safety and health standards relating to absorptive capacity and safety, adherence to hygiene, pest and rodent control, Health and storage in a safe environment, provision of breastfeeding programs for mothers, risk assessment and daily testing, CCTV monitoring of children's premises, protection of windows and doors, Children at all times, regularly checking fire alarms, providing evacuation plans and emergency exits, providing fire-fighting equipment and regular maintenance, children's safety in buses and attendance of staff in all first-aid training courses.
The Department stressed that nurseries must comply with educational support, pointing to the role of the teacher in the development of the child's knowledge and understanding through observations, focusing on the levels of knowledge, organizing the classes, managing the children's behavior effectively and enhancing their participation through guided education models, The appropriate environment in the nursery, the ability of the teacher to respond to the child's psychological needs, understanding of his or her mental abilities, as well as personal care through procedures for the use of toilets and other health practices.
As well as the way the teacher interacts with children, the learning of languages and the basics of reading and writing through the various textbooks and educational sources used by the teacher to enhance the child's language skills and to acquire literacy skills.
«Education and knowledge»:
Kindergartens are obliged to adopt fees from the Department and apply the policy of recovery, and in the event of withdrawal of the child, fees are deducted for the number of days attended only.