7 November 2009,
The recently released UAE Cost of Living Report paints a picture of parents struggling to cope with steep rises in school fees, with parents still paying between Dh12,000 and Dh60,000 a year for a child in some schools.
“Between 2006 and 2009, schools have increased fees by more than 50 per cent,” said Mike Hynes, managing partner of Kershaw Leonard Consultants, the firm behind the report.
“The reason is because they can. There is still a shortage of good schools. The fee caps have had no effect at all in regulating the price.”
The Ministry of Education has regulated school fees in the country by placing a 16 per cent cap on schools for three years. In 2008, an inspection procedure by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai linked fee hikes to the grades schools received.
Schools that were “outstanding” were allowed a 15 per cent increase and “unsatisfactory” schools could hike their fees by seven per cent.
Hynes said in this case, schools are at an advantage by opting for the maximum increase.
Many education providers oppose the method and have stated their desire to operate in a deregulated market.
Schools have argued that escalating property rental prices, staff housing costs and rising inflation have given them no choice. “The big question is: Why are they increasing the cost when the parameters to justify the increase are coming down,” said Hynes. Commercial rentals have dropped by up to 50 per cent in some parts of Dubai this year.
“If the rents are not going up, they (schools) are earning more with the fee caps.”
Fee caps do not cover costs like transport, uniforms, and books that add considerable financial commitments, the report says.
For most expatriate parents, private education is the only option with government schools not providing the required quality and standards and are catering predominantly to nationals. In Dubai alone, more than 50 per cent of Emirati students also study in private schools.
“The main reason schools are getting away with the increase is because education is compulsory. The better schools still have waiting lists,” said Hynes.
Clive Pierrepont, director of communications at Taaleem, the second largest education provider in Dubai, said in the last four to five years, there has been a disproportionate increase in expenditure and income for providers. “We earned a 26 per cent income across the board but our costs were 56 per cent.
“We are still in a position where we are supporting our schools and we have to pass on the costs of increase to customers, but over this period many of those costs have also been absorbed.”
The provider recruits teachers from an international market and retaining and training them come at high costs, said Pierrepont. “It is really expensive to recruit a teacher. An average cost of Dh25,000 is required to turn a teacher around and obviously we want to retain the very best.”
The fees at Taaleem schools range from Dh32,000 to Dh52,000 from kindergarten to high school.
Dubai has witnessed the biggest jump in education costs, more than that in Abu Dhabi. Education in other emirates seems more cost efficient with the cost in Sharjah and Fujairah remaining constant.
Fees in the UK, the US or European curriculum schools in Dubai rose from Dh29,687 in 2007 to Dh66,000 in 2008 in top schools, and this year the increase has been noticed in low-end schools too.
Gems World Academy and Repton are some of the top costing schools with a maximum fees of over Dh90,000 in Dubai
In Abu Dhabi, mid-market schools have not seen a change in cost but top-end schools have hiked the fees by almost Dh10,000.
The British International School and American Community School are some at the top end of the line in Abu Dhabi.
Indian schools have more or less carried forward their fee structures from the past year with some schools increasing the fees by 10 per cent.
The report that is available to the public to buy on www.costoflivinguae.com also looks into cost of housing, household and utilities, and medical and healthcare, and analyses employment and the job market.
“School fees play a significant part of your budgeting. The report gives reliable facts and figures so that you can budget and plan ahead,” said Hynes.