CBSE schools in Bahrain make 'no-dues' mandatory to issue students' Transfer Certificates

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

A large number of expatriates who have moved their families' homes is in a dire situation as private schools in Bahrain, mainly the ones affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in India, are not willing to offer Transfer Certificate (TC) to their children, citing the dues in payment of school fees.

Sources say students were allowed to go to their home countries by these schools with the advent of online classes and many expatriates who lost their jobs or suffered income losses during the pandemic season seized the opportunity to send their families home.

“And now the time has come to hand over TCs after the final examinations and school managements are telling parents to settle the dues, take TCs and leave. We are obliged to pay the outstanding dues, but we don’t have any source of income. I am worried about this situation jeopardising my daughter’s future?” asked a parent, who has to pay nearly BD600 in outstanding amounts to the school, where his daughter is a student.

The Daily Tribune recently published a report on many expatriate parents pleading for cuts after being unable to pay the fees of their children on time.

They have sought intervention from the part of the Ministry of Education and have presented many requests before the ministry to issue a directive to reduce the existing school fees at all community schools in the Kingdom.

Last year hundreds of parents signed a petition urging the ministry to direct schools to cut existing fees, which according to them are “very high” despite most of the schools slashing the amounts between five and 10 per cent owing to the pandemic situation.

An Indian expatriate, who has three school-going children, said: “I was successfully running a small business, which was shut down during the beginning of Covid season. My financial situation is so bad that I have hardly any money for daily requirements.” The parent said it was his friends who raised money for sending his wife and three children home.

“My son is studying in ninth standard and daughters are in Class Six and Class Four.

The school recently delinked my children from attending online classes from India as their fee was pending.

“Now I need at least BD720 to settle the fee. And this amount is huge for someone like me who struggles to pay lunch and dinner bills. “Without paying fees, my children wouldn’t be allowed to sit for annual examinations without which they wouldn’t receive their transfer certificates. I have no means to earn that money nor can I destroy my children’s future.”

Sending shockwaves across the hearts of expatriate parents, one prominent CBSE school in Bahrain even increased its fees last week by 20pc from LKG to Grade 10.

It is learnt that the school is planning to increase its fee for Grade X1 and Grade XII students.

“This is awful. We parents are already struggling to pay the outstanding amounts in fees and how could we afford this fee hike?” a parent, who has two of his children studying at this particular school, asked.

The parents are urging the Ministry of Education to issue a directive similar to the one issued by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai recently.

KHDA’s decision to freeze private school fees has been based on the approved Education Cost Index (ECI) issued by the Dubai Statistics Center, and private schools have been officially notified of the index.

ECI measures annual changes in the costs of running a school, including salaries, rent and utilities.

The ECI and the Fee Framework were developed in collaboration with Dubai Government entities, including Dubai Statistics Centre, Department of Economic Development, and Dubai Chamber of Commerce, among others.