DUBAI // Private school fees in Dubai will rise in September for the first time in two years.
There was a freeze on increases last year because the cost of running a school was calculated to have fallen by 1 per cent.
Fees are governed by a school’s performance in inspections by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau, and on the Educational Cost Index, which measures the operating expenses of schools and is calculated by the Dubai Statistics Centre,
The ECI for the 2014-2015 academic year has been calculated as 1.74 per cent. That means schools rated by inspectors as outstanding may increase fees by 3.48 per cent, those rated good by 2.61 per cent and the rest by 1.74 per cent. Schools may increase fees only after the inspection bureau releases its results this year.
Dubai’s 153 private schools teach about 88.7 per cent of children in the emirate.
“The recently announced ECI balances the needs of schools and parents, as we continue to witness steady growth within the education sector,” said a spokesperson for the private education regulator KHDA, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
The permitted increases are below the cap set on Sunday by Dubai Executive Council, which has limited any rises for the new school year to 7 per cent. The cap will be introduced only if the ECI finds costs have become high and will be applied by the same method: 7 per cent for schools with an excellent rating, 6 per cent for those rated good and 5 per cent for those deemed acceptable.
Schools will not be allowed to raise fees if the index is negative or zero.
One of the aims of the cap is to curb unjustified fee increases.
Sameera Fernandes, a mother of two, was disheartened but not surprised that fees will rise again. School fees for her daughter, 8, and son, 6, are about Dh80,000 a year.
“I think it’s become so much of a business rather than a service,” she said. “It’s a lucrative business for private institutions. When they can capitalise on it they will definitely go all out to do so. That’s what’s been happening.
“I have two kids. I can see that increase every year. If not tuition, it’s on transport or something else. It’s something that every parent dreads to hear but know it’s coming their way.
“Parents have no option but to contribute a major chunk of their earnings to fees. I really wish something could be done about it because the very essence of education is lost. It becomes more of a business, everything gets centred around that. It’s all about getting the outstanding ranking so that they can increase the fees even more.”
Swati Vedvyas, whose daughter, 15, is a pupil at Universal American School, sympathised with parents whose annual pay rises failed to match increased school fees.
But Mrs Vedvyas acknowledged it would be unrealistic not to expect schools to increase their fees to cover their own rising operational costs.
“If it’s a good institution and they are increasing the price but also taking care of the services and improving the education for the students, then I can understand,” she said.
“You cannot expect schools to not raise their fees. It’s the cycle we’re all in. It’s the same for apartments or villas, everything is on the rise. You can’t go fighting with the system.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
