By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Several nurseries in the city and its outskirts say they have a long waiting list of children seeking admission, with many nurseries here closed down following the strict regulations imposed by the Civil Defence Department in the wake of the tragic Villaggio fire.
A sudden decline in the number of nurseries has apparently resulted in a rush for admissions in the existing facilities, after hundreds of expatriate families returned from their summer holidays.
Several nurseries that had earlier accommodated children in two-storey buildings are now forced to use only the ground floor, as per the Civil Defence requirements. This has caused space constraints, also resulting in waiting lists, The Peninsula has learnt.
The Civil Defence Department had given three months time to the nurseries to comply with the rules and regulations framed by Ministry of Social Affairs earlier in February. The deadline ended on August 30, just before the beginning of the new academic year in September.
“We had class rooms on the second floor, but have shifted them to the first floor. We are facing difficulty in accommodating all children in the available space,” said the administrator of a nursery in the Old Airport area.
She said the nursery could earlier accommodate nearly 100 children and now the capacity has been reduced to half.
“We were not able to accommodate the new comers due to space constraints. There are children on the waiting list, but we cannot assure them a specific date for admission,” she added.
Some nursery operators said that they were having a waiting list for the first time, with an increasing number of parents now preferring to send their children to a nursery rather than keeping them at home.
“There is a high demand for nurseries, and the number of admission seekers has increased. This year we have 16 children on the waiting list,” said the manager of a nursery in Al Rayyan area.
A working mother said her child’s nursery was closed down recently and she was unable to find a new place.
“My daughter was going to a nursery in Al Wakra which had been operating in the area for many years. But now it is closed and I am yet to get my child admitted in another facility,” she said.
“Now I have a maid at home to take care of the child, yet I prefer sending my daughter to a nursery,” she added.
The number of crèches in the country has gone up manifold over the past few years and many of these were operating without a proper licence.
The Ministry of Social Affairs said earlier this year that it had received requests for opening 105 new nurseries. Currently, there are only 40 licenced nurseries in the country, it added.
THE PENINSULA
