A shortage of regulation-compliant school buses in Abu Dhabi has forced at least two private schools to cancel some after-school sports matches.
Headmasters from Cranleigh Abu Dhabi and the British School Al Khubairat issued separate letters to parents on Wednesday alerting them that their students’ participation in Abu Dhabi International School Sports Association (ADISSA) games would have to be temporarily suspended until more buses become available.
“As many of you may now be aware, we are facing a shortage of Department of Transport-compliant buses,” Cranleigh Abu Dhabi headmaster Brendan Law wrote in an email to parents.
“Our bus provider has been unable to provide regulation standard buses and, as I am sure you will agree, we are not prepared to compromise the children’s safety in any way. Our situation is part of a wider bus shortage, with a number of schools across Abu Dhabi facing similar challenges.”
In 2015, the Abu Dhabi Government announced a number of new school bus safety regulations after a three-year-old girl was forgotten in a school bus and left to die in 2014.
In 2008, another three-year-old had died in a locked school bus.
Operators were given two years to paint their buses yellow and retrofit their fleets with three-point seat belts for children under four years of age, CCTV cameras with audio and video recording capabilities and at least four external cameras. GPS trackers were also added to monitor the buses’ movement and locations, provisions for special needs pupils, among other requirements.
The limited number of regulation-compliant buses, along with the growing popularity of the ADISSA among private schools, has created a shortage during peak times, said Mark Leppard, headmaster of the British School Al Khubairat. Schools compete in football, rugby and other sports during the academic year.
“The fixtures have grown in number over the years and this is hugely positive but has led to various logistical pressures, particularly around the area of transport,” said Mr Leppard.
“Some schools own their own buses whilst others sub contract via approved providers.
"Unfortunately, a few schools are unable to source compliant transportation for the increased fixtures. As a result, a number of schools have had to suspend their involvement in the leagues. Friendly fixtures will still take place between schools where compliant bus transport is available, but it will be difficult to continue with the league until the issues are resolved.”
An emergency meeting between ADISSA members, made up of heads of sports departments from about 20 private schools, has been scheduled for Thursday.
“We want to see if there is a decent solution first, I’m sure that there is a way to make sure the kids don’t miss out too much,” said Iain Colledge, Raha International School principal, noting his school’s transportation company has a full fleet in compliance with the regulations and is not affected by the shortage.
One potential solution, he said, could involve having schools with compliant transportation travel to matches at the schools facing a shortage of buses.
“The ADISSA league is excellent and we are all one community trying to support each other,” said Mr Colledge.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
