(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Many parents feel the only solution to reduce expenses is by hiring cheap private car services to drive their children to and from schools.
Money-conscious parents of students in Sharjah are resorting to illegal car ride services for the school run in a bid to cut down on rising hikes in school fees and living costs.
Many feel the only solution to reduce expenses is by hiring cheap private car services to drive their children to and from schools despite the services being deemed illegal and not safe for students.
Manal Al Shamsi whose son is a student at Al Marrifa School says she has to pay Dh3000 per year for her son’s school transportation alone as well as forking out additional money for uniforms books and school fees.
But Bahar Pouria whose son is studying in a British school says she prefers to pay a Pakistani driver who charges considerably less than what she would have to pay for official school transportation allowing her to save a little money.
“The schools are continuously hiking the fees but the salaries remain the same. How can parents cope with this hike in all aspects of living Every year the cost of living including rent school fees and commodity prices increases while people don’t receive the same increase in income. This means we have to find a solution to the issue and hence we resort to these kinds of illegal ways” she explains.
Awatif Adam’s daughter studies at Sharjah International Private School and says the long distance from home to school means transportation fees are very high costing almost Dh3500.
“I work and don’t have time to drop my child to school. I had to hire a private car for Dh1500 and I save the rest of the money to buy books and uniforms.”
Tanweer whose children go to Al Kamal American School says private car hires are much more affordable for parents. Instead of paying school transportation costs of up to Dh9000 for each of his children he says a private car costs just Dh2000. And the schools that refrained from hiking education fees hike transportation fees every year instead.
“We need a solution for these irrational increases in the cost of living. The private car drivers drop off a leaflet that includes their number and how much they charge. We find it very tempting so we go for it despite knowing it is unsafe for our children. We just pray to God to protect them. We don’t have any choice.”
Aware that many parents are resorting to private transportation services for their children Al Marifa School’s Headmaster Mustafa said the school management is concerned about the children’s safety.
He said the school’s hands are tied when it comes to the students’ wellbeing within these vehicles and urged all parents to use school transportation for the safety of their children.
Official school transportation provide nannies in the bus to low-level grades as well as supervisors to ensure the safety of students from home to school and back again — a service which provides peace of mind to parents he said.
Private car-lift driver Ibrahim Rizvi came to the country several years ago and is currently looking for a job. He says he needs to make money to survive so sent out leaflets to residents offering a cheap car service as an alternative to high school transportation costs.
Clamping down
Now the issue has been brought to the attention of the Sharjah Police the Sharjah Traffic and Patrol has intensified inspection campaigns to curb the illegal practice. Since the campaign was launched more than 20 private and rented vehicles which were used for transporting passengers including students have been confiscated.
A top police officer said the campaign was aimed at enforcing the law and implementing regulations pertaining to public transportation to maintain the security in the emirate.
He pointed out that there was a national foundation working to provide transportation services to the students and the duty of the police was to protect its rights by fighting this practice and penalising violators of the law. “This illegal practice also contributes to traffic congestion and affects the security in the emirate” he said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times Head of Private Education Department in Sharjah Hessa Al Khaja said the department coordinated with other government authorities concerned to curb the illegal practice and is currently planning awareness campaigns for parents about the safety of their children when subjected to these kinds of illegal services.
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