04 May, 2009

New Sherrif in town

KHDA was at the receiving end when Sunny Varkey on Saturday accused them of "standing" in the way of Dubai's vision of world class education and stifling private investment in the sector. His outburst came after KHDA's refusal to consent to a fee hike for his new school that he claims the authority earlier approved. Varkey has called for an independent review of KHDA's ruling by a higher government body.
"Their actions are a disincentive for the private sector to reinvest in education, especially as there is no clarity on what the KHDA wants from us," said Varkey who is the single-largest provider of private education in the country with 26 schools under his charge.

Mr.Sunny Varkey, the man who made extortion synonymous with the word education having a HISSY FIT.

That just made my day.
Posted by * at 7:32 pm
Labels: ,

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its because of his name. Sunny. Names that state the obvious (Sunny in Dubai) are always shady. lol.

He calls for a review? Pull his license. But I wonder who his partners are.

04 May, 2009 20:46
samuraisam said...

KHDA is like RERA is like RTA is like TRA

04 May, 2009 20:48
Anonymous said...

samuraisam said...
KHDA is like RERA is like RTA is like TRA

All very excellent organizations!

04 May, 2009 20:57
rosh said...

I hope they fry him...perhaps cane him in public. Oh the delight!

04 May, 2009 21:20
* said...

LOL @ Rosh! and a hug for Rosh. FOR such loving thoughts.

04 May, 2009 21:24
Keef said...

Ah, poor Mr Varkey. I am SO GLAD I no longer have to pay his extortionate fees. That man bled me dry for five years.

04 May, 2009 21:27
Anonymous said...

samuraisam said...
KHDA is like RERA is like RTA is like TRA

this is highly foolish. all govt agencies have their share of problems, to be sure. but the KHDA has single-handedly managed to do SOMETHING about education in dubai, including the introduction of school inspections -- to which, of course, the profiteers at GEMS deeply object.

04 May, 2009 21:44
Anonymous said...

How did we reach this stage when a non-Emirati challenges a government organization, only because for once the judgement was against him. All these months, he's been touting KHDA to the parents who didn't want the shift to happen. Knowing this man, he will use his muscle-power/mighty dirhams to get his buddy the UAE Minister of Higher Education to clamp down on KHDA...This man deserves to be brought down!

04 May, 2009 22:03
Anonymous said...

He's still hiking fees in other schools by the way...recession and general suffering all around be damned. Hiked fees at the Millenium School by 10%.
Reason given - Teachers' salaries were increased.
Fact (very sad fact) - Teachers there have not received an increment for the last two years. And there are something like 35 kids crammed into each class.
Ah, to be an 'Educationist'...makes it so easy to throw the word 'vision' around.

04 May, 2009 22:05
Anonymous said...

Seriously ABIT, thats the best you can do? Must have been a rough day if you aren't willing to take on Sunny-delight himself. He has spit in the face of the KHDA.

Very, very, very disappointed

04 May, 2009 22:40
* said...

I am quite confident Sunny Varkey will reach for the economy pack of Vitamin W, and come out even richer. Not untill the parents stand up to the crap he calls GEMS, will his back be broken.

04 May, 2009 22:59
Proud Emirati said...

Anonymous, 22:03

This is what I thought, a no one openly challenging a government department.

04 May, 2009 23:41
Proud Emirati said...

lol @ rosh 21:20

This should be the comment of the day :D

05 May, 2009 01:50
BuJ said...

LOOOOOL Rosh!!! you're so funny.. why so much racism against indians? you know they won't stand for it here on the UAE CB.. with all it's emiratis hahahahaha

oh btw Mr Sunny (oh i love how they mister the first name only) is just like our own Mr Germanos of Choueifat.. another scary "educationalist" who just won't die.. he was around when i was in school, and i bet he will be around (with his crap lexus) when my kids are ready to goto school...

kaya.. writing excellence as usual :) boht shukriye :D

05 May, 2009 07:26
Anonymous said...

I don't have kids, so I don't have first-hand experience with education in the UAE. However, there are two things that come to mind:

1. Sunny appears to be an opportunistic man, not so much of a philanthropist.

2. It is a "Good Thing(tm)" to have others challenge government agencies, Emirati or not.

3. So far, all government initiatives to deal with inflation have been a bust as far as I can tell. I am not sure how KHDA will deal with this one.

05 May, 2009 10:25
Anonymous said...

I love this quote:

"Through arbitrary, third party and sub-contracted inspections, KHDA is destroying the existing school operators' incentive to operate and further stifling future foreign direct investment into a core sector for the country"

I read it as: "All those inspections are preventing me from delivering crappy courses by underpaid teacher to overpaying student while laundering money efficiently."

It was preceded by this other funny comment directed toward the KHDA staff:

"bunch of newly-graduated bureaucrats who have no real world experience in education, educational technology or education delivery."

Apparently this guy has little trust in the education system that graduated those people which.. well.. for an "Educator" is kinda funny. Not that I have any idea of the quality of the GEMS school.

Anyway, I don't know the guy but if he has the balls to go head to head with a gov agency in public he must have some good connection. :(

05 May, 2009 11:10
Razaldo said...

i had once analysed the 'business model' of schools in kuwait
turns out that they are easily making more than a million kd every year
if you want, i can mail you the analysis :D

05 May, 2009 15:44
* said...

anon @ 11.10
I soooo loved the explanation of the jabberwocky esp I read it as: "All those inspections are preventing me from delivering crappy courses by underpaid teacher to overpaying student while laundering money efficiently." Hahahahhahaha. I laughed till I choked on my idlis.
*idlis :food of the varkey-ing class.

05 May, 2009 17:23
Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Seriously ABIT, thats the best you can do? Must have been a rough day if you aren't willing to take on Sunny-delight himself. He has spit in the face of the KHDA.

Very, very, very disappointed

Last I checked I wasnt your monkey, and the fact that you are very very very disappointed means I did something right.

Dont know who this loser is, dont care. Dont live in Dubai, and I dont have kids. If Dubai wants to take his BS, let them. Unlike you and most, I dont stick my nose into shit that doesnt concern me.

05 May, 2009 17:54
Dubai Jazz said...

This is the first time I'm hearing of this guy. And you guys know what car he drives? granted I haven't been in the UAE for long, but I do know a thing or two; for instance, there's a 'Sunny' side to many other industries, shall we list them?

1- rice supply.
2- ?

(you may continue the list, but please refrain from any racial or interracial slurs)

05 May, 2009 18:25
rosh said...

Mr BuJ, I wasn't being racist. Perhaps the most unfortunate ways from someone whose parents came into the UAE half a century ago, and set up the first schools. They've done a lot of good - his mom is in fact down to earth, very giving and humble. However, the constant greed of this man, to profit from a child's education is just another instance of greed the past decade. I'm pleased KHDA took a stand. I can only hope he does not wasta-fy his way out.

05 May, 2009 18:30
Anonymous said...

"He has a Lexus" --> Lexus cars has had a reputation for being owned always liked by majority of mafia and drug cartel bosses, is this a co-incidence

05 May, 2009 19:58
Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"He has a Lexus" --> Lexus cars has had a reputation for being owned always liked by majority of mafia and drug cartel bosses, is this a co-incidence

Can you give proof to back up this statement?

BTW, out of curiosity, if everyone is annoyed at this guy's schools, why send your kids there in the 1st place? What are their prices like? 850... a month, a year, a semester?

05 May, 2009 21:29
rosh said...

"BTW, out of curiosity, if everyone is annoyed at this guy's schools, why send your kids there in the 1st place? What are their prices like? 850... a month, a year, a semester?"

Affordability (I guess), 'sheep' mentality perhaps, and the fact he owns about 25 private schools in the UAE with 52,000 (approx half of UAE) private students enrolled. I think fees vary by curriculum. Anyway, I'm sort of surprised some of you've not heard of the Varkeys. They moved to the UAE in '59, taught English to local students in Bur Dubai, for a monthly fee of 25 Indian rupees (local currency then). In '68 founded, The Our Own High.

05 May, 2009 23:37
hemlock said...

Last I checked I wasnt your monkey, and the fact that you are very very very disappointed means I did something right.HAHAHAHAHAHA! that's FUNNY! :) lol...
ABIT, are you saying you are someone else's monkey or not a monkey at all? please clarify.

06 May, 2009 09:28
Anonymous said...

Hemmie :-P Im not someone else's monkey... I may however be a monkey in general, havent had a DNA test recently, last time though, I was a giraffe.

06 May, 2009 18:43
Anonymous said...

I know he has a Maybach. His son Dimo (not the other one whose name is Dino.. amusing names all around, yes?) used to go to that school with me, hence I know.

And hissy fit = exactly what it was. Nice one, Kaya!

07 May, 2009 17:21

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