Six new Indian schools are to open in Abu Dhabi over the next two years,after education authorities in the UAE capital shut down a number of private Indian schools for violating land use norms. India’s ambassador MK Lokesh said that the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has given an assurance that the interests of the students of the Indian schools facing a shut-down would be taken care of. Seven Indian schools face closure after the ADEC launched a drive against villa schools or schools that are run privately on residential plots. The closure of these schools will affect some 5,854 pupils.
However, the new schools that are to be opened will offer around 15,000 seats, news that brings some relief to the parents of the affected students. Lokesh said the fate of around 2,000 pupils in two schools that face closure by the end of this academic year is a concern.ADEC this year ordered the closure of two Indian schools, Abu Dhabi Indian Islahi Islamic School and Little Flower Private School, which have 1,300 and 570 students respectively, by the end of the current academic year.