Abu Dhabi to have 6 new Indian schools following villa school closures

Abu Dhabi will have six new Indian schools and offer around 15,000 seats and give a relief to parents of students whose villa schools are facing closures.

The Indian Ambassador to the UAE, M.K Lokesh said that the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) has given an assurance that the interests of the pupils at villa schools will be taken care of.

Lokesh said that as seven Indian villa schools face closure, affecting a total of 5,854 students, the new schools will offer around three times more seats, the Gulf News reports.

The director general of Adec, Dr Mugheer Al Khaili said that the Abu Dhabi Government appreciates the contribution of the Indian community to the country and everything will be done to protect their interests.

Lokesh has further requested Adec to give an extension to the two schools facing imminent closure by the end of this academic year, affecting fate of around 2,000 students.

He said that although the pupils of the two schools can find seats in new schools that will be opened in the next two years, but the fee structure in such private schools, which will be between Dh 10,000 and Dh 13,000, is a concern for low- and middle-income parents.

The envoy further suggested opening the branch of Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS), which is a non-profit sharing school run by a board of governors of prominent community members which charges a low fee, is the immediate solution, and since finance is not a problem for the organization; the embassy will pressurize them for opening the school.