Sudden closure of special needs centre leaves parents of 20 children in a fix
dubai — The abrupt closure of Potential Adaptive Child Education (Pace) Centre, a centre for students of determination located in Jumeirah, has left 20 families in a lurch. Parents received an e-mail and meeting notification from the centre 10 days ago, stating the school will not reopen after the summer holidays.
Several parents contacted by Khaleej Times said it is impossible for them to find alternative schools in such a short notice, given the school academic terms end in June and begins in September. Established in 2016, Pace was launched to meet the demand for specialised education and therapy in the UAE. The centre, however, has cited harsh economic conditions as the main reason for its closure.
The centre, formerly known as Oasis School in Al Safa, underwent a transition from a school to a ‘learning development centre’ in 2016. At this time, the school moved from under the Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) authority to the Ministry of Social Affairs. At launch, it was the only and first of its kind school teaching special education needs (SEN) and mainstream students under the same roof.
Nazeer Veliyil, a parent whose 18-year-old son Nihal is a student at the centre, said: “Nihal is autistic and suffers from aerophobia. He’s been studying here for several months now, and since Pace is closing down so abruptly, I don’t know where else to take him.”
Nazeer and his family have been living in the UAE for 21 years, and before joining Pace, he went to several other special education centres. “He used to be a student of Our Own English High School, Dubai, till Grade 8. After that, we found it very hard to find something suitable for him. We were pleased with the centre.”
Pace Centre established a dedicated team to work with the parents and other centres in Dubai to arrange placement of the children in other centres.” Hennie Ferreira, chief operating officer of Dubai Education
I am not sure of what our options are. I was pleased with how Pace was going. But in all this, the children and the staff are suffering.” Aanal Shah, parent
The centre had some excellent teachers. The closure has been very abrupt, and we didn’t plan for our son to be moved to another centre.”
Pradeep Mahajan, parent
Tough economic conditions
After being told of the closure, the parents received an email from the centre providing open house dates and contact details of two other special needs centres in Dubai — Modern Alternative Education and Skills for Kids. Both centres are willing to accept students of all age groups, as most students of Pace centre belong to the 13-18 age category.
In a statement to the Press, the centre clarified: “The sustainability of a centre of such high standards is not viable in the current economic environment.” Hennie Ferreira, chief operating officer of Dubai Education, the holding company of Pace Centre, said: “Therefore, we had to take the difficult decision to close down the centre and we informed all the parents.” The centre followed the Autism Curriculum Encyclopaedia (ACE), a teaching methodology developed by the New England Centre for Children (NECC).
The centre’s statement also clarified that it would help parents through the transition process. “Pace Centre established a dedicated team to work with the parents and other centres in Dubai to arrange placement of the children in other centres with the least amount of disruption. The wellbeing of the children remains our main concern and priority,” added Ferreira.
Many of the students at the school were over the age 13, and the parents were charged a fee of approximately Dh68,000 to Dh75,000 per annum.