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Doha, Qatar: Birla Public School which recently announced its decision to introduce shift timings in its campus is facing strong opposition from parents who are filing complaints with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Indian Embassy to revert or to arrive at an alternative option.
The school changed the timings in its Abu Hamour Campus, starting September 10, 2024, as per which the kindergarten will operate from 6:30am to 10:15am while the grades V to 12 students will have classes from 10:30am to 5pm.
This change, announced without any prior warning, has raised safety concerns, especially among working parents, many of whom wrote to The Peninsula, expressing their concerns of leaving their children at home alone while heading to work. Nusrat Ahmed (name changed on request), parent to a kindergartner and a class VI child, writes, "I will have to leave my 10-year-old at home and expect him to get ready alone while continuously worrying if he has switched off the air conditioner and locked the doors properly."
She further questions the timing for such a change wondering if the school was unaware of the increasing number of students it was admitting into its campus during the admissions in the last academic year that it is now forcing parents and children to adjust.
Similar concerns were raised by the parent of class V student M Kumar (name changed on request), who met the Birla principal Dr Anand R Nair along with a few other parents. He said the parents presented a list of 19 concerns this change would bring about. "We understand the issues that the school is facing but they need to look at the other side of the coin. With this schedule the child's time management is completely off the charts; there is very little study time, very little play time and very little family time," Kumar said, stressing that after coming back from school at 6:30pm, studies would be the last thing on their mind.
"The revised school timings will severely impact after-school activities, including important extracurricular programmes and Islamic education. Students already enrolled in evening Quran classes with the Ministry of Awqaf may be forced to withdraw due to the new schedule, and those in higher grades will have to give up their tutorials," Nusrat added.
Kumar further explained that the principal after hearing all the concerns said that shift change was the best solution that the school could come up with at such short notice since it received the Ministry notification in the first week of August. "The principal is open to suggestions from parents but then it has to be something that is feasible for them since they are not willing to rent a new premise," Kumar said adding that neither could the principal give us a timeline on how temporary this shift change could be.
Kumar and other parents also met with the First Secretary (Education & Culture) Sachin Dinkar Shankpal at the Indian Embassy in Doha, which also proved futile. He now plans to sit with other parents representing each class and try some options and then present those to the embassy officials before meeting the school authorities.
Though there are many parents who feel that it is a situation that the school has to deal with either by renting a new premise or by having some classes online while the others are in school, Kumar believes that if no feasible suggestions are given by them to school, the latter will go ahead with the shift change without addressing the parents' concern.
Another parent of a Grade 10 student said that his child is under extreme stress due to the uncertainties revolving around the timings. “Children will have to wait for the bus in the heat at around 9:30am, then be part of the peak traffic in Doha during their dispersal. After school, my kid attends tutor classes, who are now struggling on how to accommodate these Birla kids who have school timings opposite to all other schools,” he said.
He further added that he has filed a complaint through the Ministry helpline and a follow-up call with the authorities revealed that 1,500 parents have registered their displeasure with the school.
Nusrat, who has also explained her concerns by email to the Ministry of Education, says that the Ministry should intervene and penalise the school for admitting more students rather than punishing the children and parents. "While all the children in the entire Qatar region go to school in the morning hours, we have to worry about our kids who have later hours for no fault of theirs," she said.
Meanwhile, Principal Dr Nair explained that in the current situation, it is important for the school to comply with the Ministry norms and begin with the shift system. “We cannot go ahead without introducing the shift system. We are working to ensure it’s a smooth process,” he said.
He further said that after Covid, it is with great difficulty that parents and school were able to bring students to physical classes and so they did not want to risk children by introducing online classes. “It is important for children to have time with their classmates and their teachers. Online classes can be done for emergencies, like we had for the past one week, but it cannot be a solution in the long run,” said Dr Nair.
Meanwhile, a few set of parents are now in meeting with the Indian Embassy officials to look at alternative options that work for the school management and the children as well.
