‘Give back the money’: Sharjah Ruler orders free education for Sudanese pupils after fees wrongly collected

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, has ordered the Sharjah Private Education Authority to stop collecting fees from Sudanese pupils at Sudan Private School and to refund any money already paid.

Speaking during a phone-in on Direct Line, hosted by Mohammed Khalaf, director general of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, Sheikh Dr Sultan said the school was established specifically to support members of Sharjah’s Sudanese community who could not afford other options, and was intended from the outset to be free.

“We set up Sudan Private School because we found some Sudanese parents didn’t have the means to enrol their children in schools. So we opened a private school for them and took on the running of the teachers and everything to do with the school without charging parents anything,” he said.

He said the education authority had introduced what it described as “nominal” fees, but that even a small sum could be a significant burden for families in need. “We have instructed the authority not to take any fees at all, large or small, from these pupils,” he said.

Sheikh Dr Sultan added that he oversees the school’s operations directly. “We are in constant contact with those running the school, and we follow every detail,” he said. Any teacher found to have struck a pupil would be dismissed immediately, he added. Underperforming staff would receive training and support and be removed if they failed to improve, he said.

Addressing the education authority directly, he said: “Sharjah Private Education Authority, give back the money you have taken from people in need.”

Sheikh Dr Sultan’s remarks came in response to a message read out on the programme from a parent of Sudanese pupils, who said families had been asked to pay substantial tuition fees after a year of study. Certificates had been withheld until outstanding fees, along with the following year’s, were paid, despite the school having been presented as a free service granted by the Ruler, the message said.

UAE’s support to Sudanese community

Sheikh Dr Sultan’s directive is the latest example of the UAE’s continued support for the Sudanese people since the conflict broke out in the African country in 2023.

When the fighting started and Sudan’s airspace was closed in April 2023, Dubai Airports offered temporary accommodation to Sudanese transit passengers who were unable to complete their journeys, allowing them to travel to other destinations until they were able to reach Khartoum or chose to go to other destinations.

The UAE also allowed Sudanese citizens with less than six months left on their passports to obtain or renew residency visas, aimed at helping people regularise their status.

That support has extended beyond the UAE’s borders. In Chad, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees have sought shelter, the UAE has renovated schools in Amdjarass in partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent and other national foundations. It has also established field hospitals in Chad and South Sudan.

The UAE has become the second-largest humanitarian donor to Sudan after the US, with aid since 2023 exceeding $800 million, bringing total aid since 2015 to $4.24 billion, spanning food, medical care and shelter for displaced families both inside Sudan and in neighbouring host countries. Most recently, the UAE Aid Agency pledged an additional $20 million to the UN World Food Programme to address acute hunger among Sudanese civilians and refugees.