Children with children in kindergartens demand that a portion of their children's tuition fees be refunded, because they will not go to their kindergartens during the days in which they will experience study disruption, based on the decision of the Ministry of Education, the day before yesterday, to suspend studying in nurseries to reduce the possibility of the spread of the Corona virus.
Responses of nursery officials varied regarding this claim, while they confirmed that they would face the challenge of paying the salaries of nursery workers, in the event of responding to the claim.
In detail, Mohamed Jamal (the father of a child) said, “The Ministry of Education’s decision to suspend working hours in kindergartens came at the right time, in order to preserve the health of our children, especially young ones, who could not avoid the injured and protect themselves from infection with respiratory infections, including Corona virus, "he added, adding:" However, the suspension of the study places the families in front of a major challenge, which is caring for children indoors while the parents are absent from their working conditions. "
He added that «the decision to suspend did not specify a specific period for the absence of children from attending kindergartens, which means that it may extend to a month or more, and therefore it is assumed that a portion of the fees will be deducted for the period during which students will be absent, as it is not reasonable to pay fees for a service that we did not receive ».
Ibrahim Saleh (the father of a child) stated that he paid the month of March fees for his son's custody days before the Ministry's decision. He said that the nursery requires the families of the children to pay a month's fees in advance, in order to guarantee their right, and he demanded that the nursery refund part of the fees, in exchange for the days when the child will be absent from attendance.
Hiyam Muhammed (the mother of a child) said, "The nurseries are required to return part of the fees for the number of days that the student is absent from work," adding: "It is not correct for the nursery to reserve a seat in the name of a student throughout the year, whether he pays his fees or does not pay, as It is in the event of non-payment of fees demanding his relatives to move him to another place, and refuses to receive it ».
For its part, said the director of one of the nurseries in Sharjah, Engy Kamal: “The parents of the nursery children pay their fees in different ways. Some of them pay monthly, and others pay the full semester fees, and a third team pays the year’s fees in advance, so the decision to return the fees or part of them To parents of children, it is necessary to consider two important points, one of which is the duration of the decision to suspend working hours in kindergartens, and the other point is to pay the salaries of workers in the nursery ».
She clarified that in the event that the children are suspended permanently and the fees paid by their parents are returned, the nursery administration will be facing a challenge to pay the salaries of its employees, asking the Ministry of Education to define a mechanism to address this challenge.
Aisha's nursery director in Dubai, Aisha Abdul Rahman, said, “Suspending working hours in nurseries is not an excuse for returning fees paid by the parents of the child, or part of it, because some people pay the full year’s fees, and then the seat in the nursery becomes reserved for their son, so the nursery cannot accept a child His last place. ”
She said that «a number of children with children in kindergartens exaggerate when they demand the refund of a part of the fees due to the absence of students for one or two weeks, in implementation of the decision to suspend the time taken by the Ministry. The school year also witnesses long vacations, such as holidays and occasions, yet the child's father does not get a refund of the fees.
She added: “We have only 30 male and female students in the nursery, and the fees they pay do not meet their financial obligations, including salaries, rent, and other services. Therefore, we pay about 30% of the amount to complete the obligations. Hence, the recovery of the children’s families as part of the fees will put the nursery in front of the problem of paying the obligations. ”
Financial obligations
A nursery director in Sharjah, who refused to mention her name, stated that the children of her nursery pay the fees monthly, indicating that she will not be able to ask them to pay the fees if their children are absent from the nursery, because they did not get the educational service that they pay for.
And she continued: «We hope that the period of suspension of working hours in nurseries will not extend to a month or months, because that exposes the nursery to a financial crisis, with which you will not be able to pay its obligations, which include renting the place and the salaries of its employees, and electricity, water and other services.
- Director of nursery school: “The school year witnesses long vacations, yet the child’s father does not recover part of the fees paid.”