117 Dubai schools hike fees

Education in Dubai’s private schools has become more expensive this year as almost 80 per cent of the city’s private schools have hiked fees.

Some 117 schools were allowed a fee increase by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), in line with the fee increase framework issued in April this year.

“The Dubai School Inspection Bureau released the school results for international schools in the first week of May. Thereafter schools were given one month to apply for fee increases in line with the framework,” according to Abdulrahman Nassir, Executive Director of Customer Relations and acting Chief of Regulations and Compliance Commission (RCC) at the KHDA.

The minimum fee increase allowed this year was three per cent as good and outstanding schools were allowed a fee increase of 4.5 per cent and six per cent, respectively. Some schools were also allowed to apply for an ‘exception’, providing them with a chance to ‘cover investments in educational infrastructure’.

“Out of 123 schools that applied for a fee increases, 35 schools have applied for exceptional fee increases; 25 of whom have been approved,” added the official. The fee increase for these schools is in excess of six per cent.

The government of Dubai had announced the School Fees Framework on April 8, 2012, and linked fee increases with the school inspection results and an Educational Cost Index for the year, which was decided at three per cent for 2012-2013.

“The objective behind the development of a framework to regulate school fees is to protect the students and their parents as beneficiaries of educational services, as well as to provide a favourable environment for investors in the education sector and encourage them to improve the quality of education in the Emirate of Dubai,” reads the purpose of the framework.

A spokesperson from Taaleem, an education provider, highlighted that importance of these fee hikes as he said, “Most parents understand the need for a fee adjustment when they see how it will be used to support teaching and learning and fund the school’s aspirations through its development planning. Maintaining an open dialogue about financial matters with parents is an essential part of this understanding.”

Four schools run by Taaleem have been allowed a fee increase in accordance with the KHDA guidelines.

“Up to 80 per cent of a schools income is allocated to teachers’ salaries. The quality of education never exceeds the quality of teachers in any institution and therefore the recruitment and retention of top quality staff is always a priority at Taaleem schools,” added the spokesperson.

Only six schools in Dubai were refused a fee increase by the regulator as a total of 133 schools were eligible for fee increases.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com

Key Data about Dubai’s Private Schools

Number of private schools in Dubai = 148

Number of students in private schools in Dubai = 207,118

Proportion of all Dubai students attending private schools = 88%

Growth of the private school student population since the previous academic year = 7.1%

Number of curricula on offer in Dubai’s private schools = 13

Average number of students in a class in Dubai’s private schools = 25

Average tuition fee paid by a private school student in Dubai = AED 17,172

Total gross revenue in tuition fees able to be collected by private schools in Dubai = AED 3.52 billion