Candidate sets sights on rising school fees
Health and social issues, education, jobs and reduced school fees are some of the issues being highlighted by candidates during the last leg of campaigning for the Federal National Council (FNC) elections, which ends on October 4.
Ameena Abdullah Al Mazroui, who works as a corporate social responsibility specialist at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, is highlighting issues such as stipend for widows, retired people, jobs for Emiratis and the underprivileged, and health care and education.
Speaking to Gulf News on Sunday, Al Mazroui said: “I would like to chalk out a criteria for school fees as per their facilities and propose reasonable fees to ease the financial burden on families. I would pitch for reducing the rising school fees, which range between Dh25,000 and Dh65,000 for KG.”
Al Mazroui pointed to the issue of widows being under more financial pressure due to the rising cost of living.
“The monthly [stipend] of Dh5,000 is not enough. I will study cases to find out their sources of income and raise their issues,” she said.
Some widows, she said own buildings and thus receive good rent every month, but others don’t. “We should focus on their children’s studies and expenses,” Al Mazroui said.
Al Mazroui also aims to increase the presence of Emirati teachers in government and private schools. Currently, 51 per cent of teachers in state schools and 4 per cent in private schools are Emirati.