File photo for representation only.
Doha: The Indian schools who were given permission to start the evening shift has put the admission procedure on hold as per the advice by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The MES Indian School, which was one of the four to receive the go-ahead to start the second shift, posted on their social media that they have suspended the admission to the evening (second) shift and advised the parents to wait for further instructions from the ministry.
The Ideal Indian school also posted on their official website that the “evening shift is on hold until further confirmation from the Ministry of Education. Registration and admission tests are being cancelled.”
The schools have not given any reason for the instructions from the Ministry.
“Notification: It may be noted that we have been advised by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to suspend admissions to the second shift. Subsequently, parents are advised to wait for further instructions from MOE,” MES tweeted.
An official from Olive International School, which had announced the registration process for the evening shift only last week, also said that the process is on hold till further instruction.
The fourth school to get the Ministry nod to start the evening shift, Shantiniketan Indian School, said that they are waiting for Ministry’s instruction. A school official told The Peninsula that the ministry is taking a re-look at the evening shift and the school has informed parents at the time of admission that it is provisional and inter school transfer is subject to ministry approval.
Parents who have already secured admission to the second shift in some of these schools expressed concern as some of them have already paid the fees and even bought uniform and books.
A parent, Rifa, was seen asking MES, which was first off the block to kick off the admission procedure, on twitter: “Pls reply, as I have already bought uniform and books, as per your instruction.”
Another parent told us that they have paid the fees already and was about to apply for a transfer from the current school.
“The idea behind the evening shift was to accommodate the children who are finding it difficult to find admission. Many parents tried to use this opportunity to shift from more expensive schools to schools charging less fees as the difference is significant in some cases,” an educator, who preferred not to be named, said.
