Request for fee reduction and online live classes at BSM

1. We request that BSM reduces term three fees of 2019/2020 and next academic year 2020/2021 if the learning is going to be taught online as well, for the following reasons :

      1. Since the closure of school from 13 March 2020, operating costs of BSM has reduced. Students and staff are not using the classes, sports facilities, music and dance halls, libraries, theaters and staff rooms. All printers, photocopying machines, stationeries and all class resources are not utilised. Further, the consumption of utilities such as water, electricity and air conditioning has reduced to almost zero. Hence, the monthly operational cost must have reduced drastically.

      2. The cleaning, maintenance and security staff requirement has reduced considerably, hence BSM must have obtained a cost reduction on those staff cost, considering they are mainly outsourced personnel.

     3. EVERY child in BSM has paid OMR 3250 as enrollment that goes towards the school buildings beside the hefty annual increase in fees.

     4. Many non-profit schools in the UK have reduced their term fees post COVID-19 pandemic while others gave students and parents full live online experience. Also, many schools in Oman as well as schools, both for-profit and non-profit schools in the Gulf region, has provided various degree of discounts on their third term fees.

     5. Foundation stage and higher-up years are absolutely learning nothing as foundation stage years (1 & 2) merely depend on teacher interactions while higher-up years (11, 12 & 13) were supposed to be taking their exams in term three. 

     6. Dutch stream school has reduced their fees to almost nothing for their BSM students. Many schools which have already provided the fee discount are those which charge much lesser term fee and admission fee. Hence, it is unthinkable that BSM does not have a considerable amount of reserve in it's account which can absorb any fee discount at this time.

    7. Many parents have experienced pay cuts while few were put on unpaid leave during this pandemic. It is becoming a big burden to those families to pay the full fees in addition to internet bills for their children to access the online learning, paper printing and usage of craft and project materials on top of spending many hours teaching their children.

2. We request that BSM implements live classes for all students including Primary students, effective immediately, to enable their education experience with required amount of teacher interaction, so that they are provided the best possible education at this challenging times for the following reasons:

    1. Parents are not professional teachers and many do not have plenty of time in hand to devote many hours a day to teach children, hence we send the children to school.

     2. In the current situation, children are forced to study with pre-recorded videos, YouTube links, presentations, independent internet search etc. However, these are not undergraduate or post graduate students to be able to learn this way, hence parents are required put in a considerable amount of time, if they are to get the children to make use of the existing learning tasks.

    3. Many parents pay the school fee on their own, without any school allowance from employers, hence they feel it is a waste of their hefty school fee, if they do not get the children to complete all the required learning tasks.

    4. Many schools around the world and in Muscat are successfully conducting live classes already and to the satisfaction of parents, hence BSM has no excuse not to conduct the same.

    5. Existing learning mode has become very monotonous without teacher-student interaction thus has become a burden on parents and children alike. As students are self-learning and if needing help, which they need anyway, they are forced to turn to the internet. If not, they need to turn to their parents' support who may not be equipped to provide the correct explanations. This has started to affect the mental wellbeing of parents and children alike.

     6. Live online classes will reduce the need for pre-recorded videos and presentations, hence reduce the burden on the teachers as well.

    7. All live classes can be recorded for the subsequent access of anyone who wish to do so. Hence, there is no argument of inconvenience for those who wish to have pre-recorded lessons.

    8. Dutch stream school which conducts classes for BSM students at BSM premises are providing live classes with no security threats mentioned.

British School Muscat Parent    Contact the author of the petition