Parents view it as a financial burden

Private schools charge students with smart devices

Providing laptops is a burden on families with more than one student. Archives

Private schools in the Northern Emirates have required students to bear the value of smart devices such as "laptop" and "iPad", if the "distance learning" system is applied, as they are among the school supplies such as books and tools that the student must purchase, in preparation for the beginning of the school year On August 30th, with students seeing that carrying the cost of smart devices increases the financial burden on their shoulders, and exhausts them economically, especially for those who have more than one student in private schools, pointing out that the average price of a computer is 2000 dirhams, which means that the guardian may bear More than 6,000 dirhams to buy computers for children, excluding school fees.

The director of Al-Kamal American School in Sharjah, Fatima Abu Mois, told Al-Emarat Al-Youm that the school administration has ensured the development of the distance education system, by installing cameras and screens in the classroom to transfer the lessons to students directly from the classroom, and it is difficult for her to cover Smart devices for students with the beginning of the new school year.

She explained that the school administration has incurred large sums of money in order to develop the educational system to "remote" learning, and students' parents must bear their responsibilities and bear the costs of smart devices for their children, as they are school supplies.

She indicated that distance education relies mainly on smart devices, so every student must have a device in order to continue education remotely at home, if hybrid education is applied.

Muhammad Shaker, the registration official at a private school in Umm Al-Quwain, said that the students' families, who re-enroll their children in the classroom, were informed that they bear the cost of the smart devices for their students.

He explained that many questions were asked to the school by students 'families about the entry of smart devices, including books, uniforms and annual fees, as they were informed that the school considers them among the educational requirements that students' families must buy for students, and it does not fall within the textbook fees.

He added that the school left students with the freedom to choose the quality and size of smart devices, due to the variation in prices and the duration of the guarantee, pointing out that most students have smart devices since the beginning of the implementation of "distance education", but they were used excessively by students during the summer vacation, which caused Due to its exposure to a technical defect or a broken screen, students' parents believed that private schools would provide their children with smart devices with the beginning of the new school year.

The director of a private school that applies the British curriculum in Ras Al Khaimah, who asked not to be named, confirmed that the school has 500 students registered in various classes, and the purchase of smart devices for all students will cost them exorbitant sums of money and expose them to financial losses, especially since the price of a laptop or tablet device It averages 2,000 dirhams.

He explained that in the event that some students' families are unable to purchase smart devices, the school administration will send requests to some charities, in order to help the families of students with limited income, or those suffering difficult economic conditions, in order to provide them with smart devices, as happened during the semester. The last academic year of the last academic year.

He added that smart devices are the responsibility of students' parents, and they cannot be considered within the responsibility of the school, as the books and school uniforms are provided by the school as it is one of the school’s matters, in terms of the curriculum, and the uniform that bears the school’s logo and represents its students.

Preventative measurements

The director of a private school in Ras Al Khaimah, who refused to be named, stated that the students' families must acquire smart devices at reasonable prices with a multi-year guarantee, including screen breakage and technical defects, and work to implement preventive measures, such as: Installing a screen protector from scratching and a silicone holder Or the plastic protects it from breakage, if it falls from the student’s hand, in order to preserve the devices for as long as possible, so that they are not exposed to breakage or any defect, which leads to a delay in obtaining the appropriate classes for the student "remotely".

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Thousand dirhams, the average cost a guardian would pay to buy computers, if he had three children.

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