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Ministry intervenes if there is excessive surcharges by educational institutions

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) has stressed its role regarding the issue of adjusting the fees for courses offered by private educational institutions in the country, saying it is only to make sure they commit to what is stated by the institution in its official publications, since it represents a contract between them and the student.

Professor Badr Aboul Ela, Director of the Commission for Academic Accreditation at MOHESR has told Dhafra Channel in an interview that education is not a commodity that is bought and sold but it is a service, the cost of which is set by the institutions according to the cost of the study programmes, the ministry monitors compliance with what is advertised, and it intervenes if there is excessive surcharges, to restore normalcy.

Aboul Ela pointed out that the cost of the programme is determined by many factors the most important is the degree granted by the programme (diploma, Bachelor, Master, etc.), the extent of demand, the needs of the labor market, the need for specialty equipment such as laboratories and equipment or not, plus the cost of bringing faculty from abroad, especially in foreign universities that open a branch in the UAE. The fees reflecting the cost should be posted in admissions and registration offices giving prior knowledge to the students.

Answering a question on how can parents ensure a promising future for their children with acceptable cost, he said that higher education in the State has grown considerably both in the programmes offered by governmental, private or foreign universities, this gives higher education in the UAE a strong global competitiveness. The Federal and government universities offer all the programmes needed for the labor market and different degree, and does not charge fees to citizen students, and also sponsors those with special living conditions.

Aboul Ela stressed the need for students and parents to review the list of private educational institutions accredited by the Ministry, so that students do not register in universities that are not licensed or accredited which wastes their time, effort and money, and warned of fake universities on the Internet.