Nibras School NIS

[shawarma]

Nibras International School - DubaiFaqs.com information for Nibras International School (NIS?)

23 May 2008 - email received from Nibras International School with following updates:

1. Who is the head? - Mr. Gustav Gröpp
2. Number of Students - 320 - 2007/08
3. Number of Staff - 36 teachers; 7 Teachers Assistants; 12 Administration; 18 Service workers
4. Email: info @ nisdubai.ae
5. Qualifications: American High School Diploma (SAT’s)
6. How much are the fees? - 18,000 AED – 39,000 AED

There is an Al Nibras School for Special Needs in Kuwait listed in Wikipedia, but I can't find any other information about it (all other sources seem to be based on the Wikipedia entry), except a comment from Nibras Holding in Kuwait that they planned to start a special needs school in Kuwait (perhaps they did already). I presume the special needs school and Nibras Holding are unrelated to NIS in Dubai.

Questions:

Who is the owner / manager of the Nibras school in Dubai?
What is teacher salary range and benefits package?

Do you have any comments about teaching or studying at Nibras School? Fire away ...

[shawarma]

NIS head changed? Website says principal is Dr John Black (from the US) when checked today. Maybe was a sudden change? NIS website on 24 July 2008 still had Mr Gustav Gropp as principal.

[shawarma]

Nibras International School was reported in the Gulf News this morning as not paying teachers the salaries they were owed, according to some teachers. But NIS management says the teachers broke their contract. "The school has deducted the airfare from my June salary and I have not been paid for the month of August." said one teacher.

At best, it looks like teachers misunderstood the English version of the contract when they signed the Arabic version. At worst, it looks like the Arabic version was different and teachers were made to sign it despite not knowing it was different.

Only the Arabic version of a UAE labour contract is legally valid for jobs in Dubai. As they say in London, mind the gap.

[shawarma]

Post by RandaHarke moved to moderator queue, waiting for update from RandaHarke for reconsideration.

[momdadteach]

Quick heads up about this school.
Teachers are great and professional and care for the children.
Management has no idea how to manage a school, very unprofessional.
Management especially the representative of the owner treats all staff members as sub-human this includes the accommodation that is provided to the teachers as well as the salaries that are paid out.
This school should be under new management ASAP or else the amount of teachers that leave will continue! And the children will be left with no more teachers!
If you are a teacher researching schools to apply to do not apply to this school unless you like to work in an environment that is absolutely chaotic.

[momdadteach]

I don't understand how this school got an acceptable grade from the KHDA! They should have failed...They have no curriculum or standards! When the KHDA visited at the beginning of the year they pulled out a curriculum and standards used at another school that the high school supervisor used! Teachers were asked to make up a curriculum since the teachers from previous years took all their work with them in protest to the awful administration of this school! I caution you if you are a parent don't send your children to this school you are throwing your money and if you are looking to teach.... if you want to be treated like a "worker" and not a professional by all means work there. You have a one hour ride from your awful accommodation in International City (the ghetto) in the morning and the afternoon, poorly paid and no professional development. This school must be shut down! It is a disgrace to all educators!

[RandaHarke]

Hopefully, their days will soon be at an end. They hired a white face prop to stand at the front gate and act like a principal and tried to give the school some credibility but no substance. Problem is his credentials are unverifiable so Nibras had to employ him under their corporate cover.
I was there during the KHDA audit and can tell you the secondary group exposed a lot of the school's shortcomings while at the same time convincing the auditors that we had the solutions to the school's problems. They believed us. Problem is that Nibras started firing the ones who could turn the school around. The school director did everything in his power to divide the staff and bring the school down. The death nail was when the best left to go to Abu Dhabi and work for other schools. They burned so many on their leaving benefits that it redefined the definition of bad management.

[unsatified]

Do not know what's going on at Nibras. Many complaints have come in regarding the school's management. Many teachers left at the end of the year and a few more just decided not to come back.There have been a lot of issues for techers and especially regarding their accommodation and salaries. Something needs to be done as the teachers are giving their best but are not treated fairly.