Some parents are facing a problem to register their children in some private schools for the 2023-2024 academic year who are put on waiting lists since the schools have a limited capacity and the registration process is limited by some controls and an official source in the General Administration of Private Education said some schools already have high student densities, while others seek to maintain the quality and distinction of their educational system by organizing admission tests for new students.
In both cases, the administration cannot oblige these schools to register more students, as they have special controls and conditions that determine the admission process, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Education has set the density ceiling in each educational system, and any transgression is looked upon as a violation committed by the school in which case the violating educational facility is liable for legal measures.
The sources indicated that the ministry excluded some schools from the density ceiling during the last academic year due to the fact that no new schools were opened during the Corona pandemic, including Arab and model schools, where the first was allowed to exceed to 42 the number o f students and the second 28 students in one class, and this situation is exceptional due to the lack of investment in this system.
The sources pointed out that the educational systems are many and varied, and the decline is only in Arab schools, adding that parents can register in other schools despite the difference in their tuition fees, and that schools are not obligated to register old students who fall behind the deadline set for the end of registration, and the student is not considered registered if he does not pay the registration fees for the next academic year, all schools set their registration dates either by text messages, e-mails, or by posting bulletins at the entrances to the schools.
The sources said some schools apologized for not accommodating more students due to shortage of human cadres, including cleaning workers and educational and administrative staff.
Nora Al-Ghanim, President of the Foreign Schools Union, told Al-Rai that the reasons for this are many and varied. These schools have closed the doors for admissions because of student density and tend to adhere to a specific number of students per class, or their inability to open additional classes due to a shortage of teachers or the small spatial capacity of the school itself.
Al-Ghanim explained, “The solution lies with the responsible government agencies, including the ministries of Finance and Education, in granting distinguished private schools, regardless of their educational system, whether it is typical Arab or foreign, to approve expansion, and this is better than granting new licenses to other schools that may take time to prove their excellence and the quality of their educational system.”
Al-Ghanim emphasized that investing in education has become repellent rather than attractive to many investors, as many obstacles and decisions are placed before them that make them think many times about investing in this field.
