DOHA: Parents are increasingly complaining that schools are demanding more and more requirements from students almost on a daily basis.
Parents expressed concern that teachers are asking students to bring special, expensive brands of stationery, pens and exercise books, among others. As for the school uniform, they are asking tailoring shops to put school badges on the uniforms, reported local Arabic daily Al Raya.
The new academic year 2014-2015 started last month and most parents complained that despite the school term being on for several weeks now, many schools were asking students to bring more and more items.
Abdullah Rashid, a parent, said his children’s teachers had demanded that the kids buy large quantities of school supplies like reams of paper of a special quality, and books, pens and colours with a certain label. He said if a parent bought something different from the specified brands or labels, teachers would reject them.
“I was surprised to see my son returning from school, abruptly sent home to collect more requirements as per a new list after just one month of the new academic year,” he added. The parent said some of the materials were not easily found in the market and urged schools to provide them and charge the parents.
Nasser Hamidi, another parent, said his children would come home with lists of various requirements given by teachers.
Even after completing buying one list of items, another came, he said, adding prices of most school items had gone up this year compared to previous years and asked teachers to be considerate.
Umm Eisa, a mother, said the endless lists of requirements had strained the budget of the family having many school-going children. She said teachers ought to know that parents have other expenses to make on their children.
Umm Taher, whose daughter is in a primary school, said she was shocked to see her daughter’s endless school requirements which were more than what a parent would spend on their child studying in university.
She said her daughter missed many school activities because she could not afford many requirements her teachers had asked for on a daily basis and the young girl was embarrassed.
Mona Al Kubaisi, another parent, said parents are no longer happy when a new academic year starts as it always means more expenses. She said endless school requirements since the beginning of the new academic year had put additional burden on parents and students.The Peninsula
