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Despite private schools in the Dubai generating a staggering Dh7.5 billion in tuition fees for the 2017-18 academic year, many teachers here have been left questioning why this hasn't reflected in their pay scales.
When Khaleej Times reached out to several teachers from different nationalities, working across a host of curriculums in Dubai, all of them agreed unanimously that teacher salaries are not on par with the billions being made in school revenues.
"I was horrified at the news that so much money has been made by private schools. Education should not really generate profit. How much profit private investors are allowed to make should be capped and the rest should be reinvested into better teacher salaries, libraries, sports facilities, premises," said AH, a Hungarian teacher at a British for-profit school.
A resident in the UAE for 15 years and teaching for five, AH's salary has increased from Dh9,000 to Dh10,500 in that time. "The increments I received annually have ranged between 1.5 to 5 per cent. It has never kept up with the rate of inflation or the introduction of tax. I accept this state of affairs, as my current school gives my son a free place. For many teachers, that is the only reason they stay in a badly paid teaching job."
Indian teacher KM, who teaches in an IGCSE curriculum, has received a 33 per cent increase in her salary in four years; a fair hike, she said, but given her low salary, it's just not enough. "I started out on Dh4,500 per month and now I am getting Dh6,000. I feel schools generate a lot of money from students, but pay very low rates to teachers in comparison."
According to the latest Dubai Private Education Landscape Report by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), private schools here generated Dh700 million more in revenue for the current academic year compared to the previous year.
Despite this significant boost for schools, the teachers just aren't feeling the benefit.
As a science teacher at a British curriculum school in Dubai, Indian expatriate SM has been teaching for 10 years.
Like KM, she has received a significant hike in pay over the last decade; 126 per cent in fact. That is significantly more than most teachers here, but when you take into account her actual pay against her years of experience, it is "far too low". "I started out at Dh3,310 per month and now I earn Dh7,500. I make no savings at all; in fact, I was able to save more when in India. The report about school revenues didn't surprise me in the least. As teachers, we know that schools make that much. I'm just disappointed that we are not given a right claim to what we deserve in terms of salary."
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