UAE residents stuck in Kerala want school start postponed
As many as 10,000 children in India for their summer holidays are unable to get back in time for the start of the new school year
Indian residents of the UAE want the new school year to be delayed to ensure thousands of children stranded in flood-hit Kerala do not miss out on the start of their studies.
About 30,000 Indian expatriate families are unable to fly home from the embattled state, just days before the new academic term is due to get under way.
Cochin International Airport, Kerala’s main transport hub, will open only tomorrow after the worst floods to hit the state in a century. Hundreds lost their lives in the disaster, which also had a devastating effect on Kerala’s infrastructure.
Puthur Rahman, head of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre and the Indian Association in Fujairah, urged India’s ambassador to the UAE to lobby schools to postpone term-time by a week.
Mr Rahman said 10,000 expatriate children were in emergency camps set up after the floods. He has received calls from parents and teachers advising him that it will take time for the children and their families to return to the UAE.
A Dubai teacher who is stuck in Ernakulam, Kerala, said she faces being docked a month’s salary if she is not back for the first day of term.
Anthony Joseph, principal of Sharjah Indian School for boys, managed to get a flight back from Kerala after travelling from Calicut Airport.
He said the school had received several requests for the start of term to be delayed.
He said that even once pupils have landed safely in the UAE, it will take time for many of the children to get back to normal.
Indian families in the UAE are calling for the new school year to be delayed because thousands of children are stuck in Kerala after the recent floods.
Parents and teachers have appealed for understanding from schools and education authorities, given the effects that the disaster has had on lives and infrastructure.
Cochin International Airport, the Indian state’s main transport centre, remains closed until tomorrow, making it impossible for many residents to fly back.
The trauma of the emergency, in which more than 400 people died, also led to calls for a delay to allow pupils more time to recover from the ordeal.
Schools return on Sunday and many teachers are required to report for duty this week.
Puthur Rahman, president of the Indian Association in Fujairah, said he had asked India’s ambassador to lobby schools to push back the start of the term by a week.
“There are more than 30,000 families from the UAE, including 10,000 children, in the emergency camps set up in Kerala as a result of the flooding,” Mr Rahman said.
“Parents and teachers have been contacting me and telling me how their children are in these camps, and that it will take them time to get home. Even my house was affected by the floods.
“We’ve been cleaning it out for the past three days and having to watch out for snakes that have taken shelter there as the floodwater rose.”
Kerala, a popular destination with tourists seeking dramatic coastlines and unspoilt beaches, was battered by record monsoon rains this year.
Roads were ripped up by the flooding while mobile phone networks were destroyed and more than a million people displaced. Many died in the tragedy or had their homes buried under landslides set off by the continuing downpours.
The flooding stranded many UAE residents who flew to India to enjoy their summer holiday. An estimated 80,000 Indian children attend schools in Dubai.
An Indian teacher who teaches social studies in Dubai said she was stranded in Ernakulam, Kerala.
The teacher, 52, said many of her Indian colleagues had flown to Kerala to be with their families over the Eid holiday.
“Many parts of the state depend on Cochin airport but it’s not due to reopen until August 29,” she said. “Almost all passengers are having ticket problems, especially when it comes to buying one-way tickets, for some reason.
“A one-way ticket to Dubai next month costs Dh307 but to fly on August 30 costs Dh2,099. If teachers don’t attend school on opening day, their salaries are deducted. If I’m not there I’ll lose a month’s salary.
“We’re seeing devastation all around us so the situation is horrible. People are not getting drinking water. People are still lost. In some areas only the frames of houses are still standing.
“I think schools should postpone opening day by a week so we can all get tickets back. So many pupils are here. This has been a national disaster.”
Anthony Joseph, principal of Sharjah Indian School for boys, was in Kerala and managed to return to Dubai on Sunday.
“We have had parents and teachers writing to us about this, with most of the requests for postponing term-time coming from teachers,” Mr Joseph said.
“They either want more holiday leave or a delay to our term. Unfortunately, the sorts of trauma we’ve heard children experiencing will mean it could be a long time before things return to normal for them.
“When I was there I saw huge rocks in the middle of the road that had been swept down by landslides. We’re trying to provide support to our staff. Teachers are supposed to start work on August 29 but we’re allowing some to start later.”