Read more: Owner of closed private school in Ajman arrested after collecting fees from parents
A number of parents, who collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dirhams in fees to a private school in Ajman that never opened, are now struggling to find a place for their children at other schools in the country.
While some of the 1,500 parents managed to enrol their children elsewhere, other families were not as lucky.
“I don’t think I left one school out in the surrounding area that my wife and I didn’t go to, trying to enrol our 12th-grade son,” said one father, Abu Mohammad.
Authorities would not confirm how much money had been collected from parents but if each paid only their child's Dh500 ($136) booking fee to reserve the place at school, it would amount to Dh750,000.
“Some paid Dh6000 or Dh10,000 and others paid more than Dh15,000,” said Mr Mohammad, from Egypt.
He paid the first instalment and signed cheques with the value of the remainder, while other families paid varying amounts.
“I managed to find another school for my child but ended up paying large sums of cash,” he said.
The father also said other parents told him they were not able to retrieve official documents they had submitted to the school during registration, which were needed to enable enrolment at another school.
“I, for one, looked the school up on the Ministry of Education’s website and it was there, I don’t know what happened,” Mr Mohammad said.
Ajman Police recently arrested the school owner in his 40s, from Syria, after complaints from parents that were lodged one week after the school year began.
“The man did not have a licence from the educational regulator and was denied a permit to run the school because it did not meet requirements,” said Capt Mohammed Al Shaali, head of Al Jurf Police Station in Ajman.
“He did not abide by the decision that declined to officially open the school for not meeting requirements and announced the opening of registration for parents, making tempting offers to attract the largest possible number of students.”
“He took the money himself, signed the receipts, then closed the school and fled.”
Ajman department of economic development said it closed the school — which is not under its authority, it said — for failing to obtain the necessary legal permits.
Parents read about the school, in the Al Hamidiyah area, online before they headed to its premises to register their children and meet its staff and owner.
“I saw advertisements about the school on Facebook and received more about it on WhatsApp,” Mr Mohammad said.
He transferred his son from a public school and had to pay about Dh22,000 to settle a Dh6,000 balance from last year’s fees and the whole sum for the current school year.
“The bigger problem is that my son is missing his last year in school and even if we managed to enrol him at a new school, he has already missed much that will affect his score.”
Mustafa Adel, from Egypt, paid Dh5,500 in registration and first-term fees for his son, a grade-six pupil.
“Parents only resorted to [going to the] police about five days ago, when some of us went to the school and found the department of economic development sticker stating it was closed,” he said.
Two more parents who spoke anonymously said they did not think the owner had intended to swindle parents out of their money.
“He could have simply fled the country after he took the money but he kept sending messages to parents saying the school will open soon,” said one.
Investigations are continuing and police officers in Ajman are working to recover the collected fees to reimburse parents.
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
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Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
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The National selections
6.30pm: Chaddad
7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou
7.40pm: Mass Media
8.15pm: Rafal
8.50pm: Yulong Warrior
9.25pm: Chiefdom
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Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
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Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
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Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
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Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
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15 years, 235 days old
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THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
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UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
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UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
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Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
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Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
