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Dh500 application fee, 10% deposits: What Dubai parents need to know when enrolling kids for next school year

What is the maximum number of instalments for tuition fees? Can students be registered in the middle of the year? Top questions answered in this guide

With parents in Dubai enrolling or re-enrolling their kids for the next academic year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has underlined a set of regulations around application fees and registration deposits, for the ease of parents.

The KHDA website states: “Schools may charge up to Dh500 to process the application of new students. This fee includes standard assessment fees. The application fee is not deductible from the tuition fee.”

Schools may ask parents to pay a non-refundable deposit to confirm new enrolment. “The deposit is payable after the student has been offered a place and parents have accepted the offer. The registration deposit cannot be more than 10 per cent of the total tuition fees, and is deductible from the total tuition fees for the academic year.”

Schools may ask parents to pay a non-refundable re-registration deposit to guarantee a place for their children for the following academic year. “The deposit cannot be more than five per cent of the total tuition fees, or Dh500 (whichever is higher), and is deductible from the total tuition fees for the academic year.”

The re-registration deposit is deductible from the first term’s fees. The school cannot ask for payment of any additional fees or deposits other than the re-registration.

The website also says: “Schools that begin the academic year in September can only collect re-registration deposit after the end of the spring break. Schools that begin the academic year in April can only collect re-registration deposit after the end of the winter break.”

Student registration

KHDA also stated that schools can register new students at any time during the academic year. New schools must have KHDA approval prior to registering students.

“If new students enrol at a school during the course of the academic year, the school can charge tuition fees starting from the month of enrolment (For example if a student enrols in a new school in the third week of October the school can charge tuition fees from the beginning of October). Schools cannot ask for payment of registration deposit until they have made a final offer of enrolment. Prior to this, schools can only charge a maximum application fee of Dh500.”

The application fee of Dh500 is refundable if the school does not offer the student a place, but is non-refundable if the school offers the student a slot but the latter does not take it. The application fee is also not deductible from the total tuition fees if the student is offered and accepts a place. “Apart from the registration and re-registration deposits, schools cannot ask for any additional payment to guarantee student enrolment and re-enrolment,” it stated.

Tuition fee payments

Schools can only collect annual tuition fees in three instalments, due at the beginning of each term. The first term payment should not exceed 40 per cent of the annual tuition fees; the second payment not more than 30 per cent of annual tuition fees; and the third term not more than 30 per cent of annual tuition fees.

As per KHDA, schools can also choose to collect annual tuition fees in 10 equated monthly instalments.

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