DOHA: Al Maha Academy, an international school based in Ain Khalid, has come under fire from parents for its allegedly high fees and failure to improve the quality of education.
Parents say the school has made it a habit to collect money from them every now and then under some pretext, especially picnics and other outdoor activities.
The school recently introduced an ebook system to replace printed textbooks and collected a huge fee from students. However, several parents allege that the ebook system is still not functional.
“I received a text message from the school asking for money to take my child on a picnic when his annual examination was scheduled to begin in a few days,” the father of a student told The Peninsula.
Picnics are not mandatory. Permission from parents is necessary to take children on an outing and they have the option to say yes or no.
“But who would say no if the entire class has planned to go on a picnic? Children who don’t join the trip may be shifted to another class and they won’t feel comfortable sitting there. And they would also want to enjoy the trip,” said a teacher.
Several parents The Peninsula spoke to expressed disappointment over the school. “They (the school management) are looking for every opportunity to take money from parents.
School trips are expensive and they demand about QR200 just for transport for a local picnic to a place like Jungle Zone. Is it reasonable?” asked the father of a student of grade six.
He said he had paid some QR5,000 for ebook system but they never used it.
“So we were forced to pay an additional QR1,000 to buy textbooks. We are also forced to buy school uniform from a specific shop.
“They charge QR840 for low-quality uniforms that are not worth more than QR200 in the local market,” said the parent.
“Tuition fees are also very high. I paid more than QR50,000 for my child this year. They should focus on education rather than luxury trips and other unnecessary activities,” he added.
Another parent said the fee is bit high but the standard of education is good. “I think it is good although not excellent. All my children speak English fluently,” said the father of six children all of whom are studying in the school.
A Qatari parent said the fee is higher than the amount he gets in the form of education vouchers and has to pay the difference from his pocket.
“One good thing I have seen in the school is that they follow Qatari customs and traditions, with separate schools and classes for boys and girls,” said another Qatari parent.
“But I would like to say the fee and other charges are very high compared to the quality of education they provide,” he added.
The school has displayed the revised fee structure approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for the academic year 2015-16 on its notice board.
According to the chart, tuition fees range from QR25,148 (KG1) to QR62,370 (final year of secondary level) for a student per year. Registration fee is QR2,100 per student.
Every student is required to pay a fee of QR3,000 for booking a seat for next year, including those already enrolled in the school.
And this amount will be considered part of school fees for next year. Prices of textbooks shown on the list are up to QR1,000.
Charges for extra classes range from QR6,642 to QR13,093 per year depending on the grade of the students.
When The Peninsula took parents’ complaints to the school management for clarification, the management asked to send a written questionnaire.
The Peninsula sent it more than a week ago and has not received any reply to the queries so far.
The Peninsula
