A school in Dubai has announced it will close in March next year owing to the impact of coronavirus.
GEMS Heritage Indian School said it deeply regretted the decision and would work to offer its 1,500 pupils alternative places.
Schools and universities across the UAE were closed in March as part of government efforts to help contain the spread of Covid-19.
The outbreak has had a major impact on the provision of education, with some job losses also resulting in pupils and their families returning to their home countries.
“It is with deep regret that GEMS Education has come to the decision to suspend all educational services at GEMS Heritage Indian School in March 2021," said Sir Christopher Stone, global chief education officer at the schools operator.
“The disruption we at Gems Education, and the entire sector, face today is entirely unprecedented. The reasons and pressures are many; and the truth is that it is incredibly difficult for anyone to predict every challenge we will face.
“The global pandemic has brought about a situation where we have had to carefully consider all options.
"As a result we are now having to make some extremely difficult decisions that we by no means make lightly – decisions that will enable to us to protect and safeguard the learning of thousands of students within our family, not just now, but well into the future.
“We wish to assure parents and students that Gems Heritage Indian School will continue to operate as normal until the end of the academic year (March 2021)."
Kalthoom Ali Salem, a committee member of Education Business Group which represents more than 100 private schools in UAE, warned in June that many schools faced significant disruption.
She said the non-payment of fees by parents following job losses, together with uncertainties over new operational costs, had put enormous pressure on operators.
Earlier this month, Rising School in Nad Al Sheba in Dubai, which opened in 2017 and offered the American curriculum, announced it would close on July 2.
Last week, Bukhatir Education Advancement and Management International, another school operator in the UAE, also announced the merger of two of their American schools in Sharjah.
Education experts in the country predict that the UAE's most expensive schools could take the biggest financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic, as parents look to make savings.
GEMS Founders Al Waha, the third branch of Gems’ and founders model which aims to provide quality education at affordable fees, was set to open in 2020 but plans were cancelled.
A GEMS Education spokesperson said: “Our two existing Founders schools in Al Barsha and Al Mizhar have proven very successful.
"In terms of the opening of a third branch in Al Waha, no official announcements have been issued to date and no students have been enrolled in the school.”
Honeymoonish
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
