Dubai: A 15-year-old student in a wheelchair, who was initially refused admission to grade five at several Dubai schools because of his age, has been finally granted an approval by authorities and will be joining his new school in April.
After more than two years of fighting for his son’s admission in Dubai, Mohammad Nasrul Haque Ansari, says he is glad he did not lose hope and decided to approach Gulf News to highlight his struggle.
The Indian father got in touch with the newspaper in January to complain that, after his son lost four years of school as a result of several injuries caused by a genetic disease, he was being denied admission on the grounds that he was already too old to join grade five.
Ansari was left with just the option of keeping his son in a school in Al Ain, which had allowed his son to continue his education after getting permission from Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), even though Ansari’s job was moved back to Dubai.
The father of three, was forced to commute for hours every day between the two emirates and had begun wondering if he would be able to get his family back to Dubai before an approval from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) left the family overjoyed.
Gulf News contacted KHDA to request them to look into the case, and they said they would assess the family’s needs and support them in their efforts to find a solution.
“We are extremely happy that my son has finally been given a special permission by the KHDA to join grade six at the Gems Heritage Indian School in Dubai. It has been a long journey, and we were very close to losing hope after several schools told us it was difficult to enrol my son because of KHDA rules and because he was on a wheelchair,” Ansari said.
He said the KHDA also granted his son approval for another school, but arrived at their choice since the school in question met his son’s needs in terms of being disability-friendly and ensuring a good future for him.
Ansari says he can see his son’s excitement in his eyes. “We thought all the doors were going to stay closed, but thanks to Gulf News, the KHDA’s consideration, and Gems Heritage Indian School’s top management, I don’t have to worry about being far away from my family when they need me.”
Ansari said his son, Mohammad Nauroz Ansari, will also soon undergo a final surgery to fix the deformity in his right femur, which has left his right leg 6cm shorter. This means Mohammad will be soon able to walk again, he added.
“Our life will definitely change for the better now. My son was very disappointed for a while, because he passed many entry exams but was unable to join, but now he is very optimistic. Mohammad is a bright student and very intelligent. We know that he wants to be a doctor, so the exception made for his case will support him in achieving his dreams.”
As Mohammad prepares to join the Gems Heritage Indian School in Dubai, a big smile can be seen on his face.
“The decision to grant me admission to the school has brought us a lot of joy. I’m happy to see that my father will no longer have to struggle for me and drive for many hours on the road. We can now all spend enough time with him and I can continue my education in Dubai and be a doctor when I’m older,” he said.
