Over 150 private schools in Dubai eligible to hike fees for next year

The joy of school fees freeze is over for parents as more than 150 Dubai private schools are eligible to raise their tuition fees for the next academic year, upon approval from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
The latest School Inspection Report by the KHDA shows that 141 schools maintained their rating from last year, meaning that they can hike their tuition fees by 2.07 per cent, the current Education Cost Index (ECI) set by the Dubai Statistics Centre. A total of nine schools, however, can increase their fees by twice the ECI (4.14 per cent) for improving their rating from 'weak' or 'acceptable'.
This criteria for fee increase is part of the KHDA's new fee framework, which allows 'weaker-rated' schools that are showing improvement to hike fees more than others. In the previous format, 'outstanding' schools could increase tuition fees by double the ECI.
For the 2018-2019 academic year, the Dubai government had imposed a fees freeze on all private schools to help ease the financial burden on parents.
Representatives of a few schools that spoke to Khaleej Times confirmed that they'll be looking for the KHDA's approval to increase their fees, despite the competitive market that encouraged many schools to offer various discounts to attract more students.
The CEO of Kings School Dubai, Allan Williamson, said they're seeking a "moderate fee increase in certain areas of their school". Kings Dubai was rated 'outstanding' for the 11^th time - its branch in Al Barsha moved up to 'outstanding' and one in Nad Al Sheba is now 'very good'.
"To provide this level of education, you need to employ the best teachers in the world and Dubai should want to attract the best teachers in the world. Unlike many other schools, all of the teachers in Kings are UK-trained and come from outstanding schools in the UK. In order to provide this level of education, get outstanding grades, GCSE and A-levels, then you do need to invest in the schools. The Kings parents have generally supported us with controlled fee increases in order to deliver that standard of education," he said.
"As CEO, I would say that Kings is supportive of the 2.07-per-cent fee increase. Considering the ratings and level of investments in teachers - in a world where we face an international teacher recruitment crisis - we think Kings would have an internal discussion on that for the record. We will be looking at a moderate fee increase in certain areas of our school."
The fees for Kings Al Barsha range from Dh52,007 to Dh97,798 for the 2018-2019 academic year. It is eligible for a 3.105-per-cent (1.5 times the ECI) fee increase, according to the new fee framework.
Weak schools that have improved their rating are also benefitting from the new framework. The HH Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistan School, for example, has already increased its fees by 4.14 per cent.
The school was rated as 'weak' for seven consecutive years and has recently been rated 'acceptable'.
"This time, we showed improvement, so we adopted the fee increase. We were given a circular by the KHDA, which notified us about it," the principal of the school, Imran Waheed, said.
The HH Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistan School is a low-cost school and the increased fees have been applied to help improve its quality of education.
The previous fee for KG to Grade 5 was Dh313 per month, and this would be increased to Dh325.95. From Grades 11 to 12, the new fee is Dh651.81 per month.
The new fee framework explained
>Schools that moved up from a 'weak' or 'acceptable' rating can increase their fees by double the Education Cost Index (ECI), which is set at 2.07% by the Dubai Statistics Centre
>Schools that improved from 'very good' to 'outstanding can increase their fees by 1.5 times the
 ECI
>Schools that moved from 'good' to 'very good' can hike their fees 1.75 times the ECI
>Schools that maintained the same rating as last year can raise fees in line with the ECI, 2.07%
>Schools that dropped in annual ratings are not allowed to raise their fees
>It is unknown whether new schools that have received a rating for the first can hike their fees
> Schools eligible to raise their fees by 4.14%
1-Dubai Arabian American School
2-Crescent English School
3-HH Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School - Dubai
4-Al Ittihad Private School
5-Sharjah American International Private School
6-Bilva Indian School
7-Amled School
8-Dovecote Green Primary School
9-Swiss International School School
>Schools eligible to raise their fees by 3.105%
1-Jumeirah English Speaking School (Br)
2-Horizons English School
3-Dubai English Speaking School
4-Kings School Al Barsha
> Schools eligible to increase fees by 3.62%
1-Raffles International School - Umm Suqeim South branch
2-Regent International Private School
3-Kings School Nad Al Sheba
4-Sunmarke School
5-Ranches Primary School
> Schools that will not be able to increase fees because their ratings dropped
1-Lycee Francais International Georges Pompidou School (Dubai branch)
2-The School of Research Science
3-Queen International School
4-International Concept Education
5-Pakistan Educational Academy
6-Grammar School
Some schools to freeze fees to meet parents' needs
Some schools are opting for a fees freeze rather than increasing their tuition to "meet the needs of the parents".
The Taaleem group, which has nine premium-market schools in Dubai, will be freezing their tuition fees again for the upcoming academic year.
However, they'll be seeking approval for an increase for one of their schools in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi.
"We wanted to make sure that parents were aware of what our intentions were and, from Taaleem's perspective, the board agreed that we would freeze again for the majority of all schools in 2019-20," the CEO of Taaleem, Ros Marshall, told Khaleej Times.
"That was certainly welcomed by our parents at the time. We're, perhaps, in a slightly more unique position because Taaleem has a group of premium-policy schools that were rated outstanding, very good or good. And we don't have any mid or lower-tier prices. So for us, it's all about improving the quality and being sensitive to the need of parents.
"We actually held our fees two years ago and then this current year. We're acutely aware of the pressures on the economics for parents here and the cost of living."
Tuition hike adds to 'growing financial woes', say parents
Parents are dreading the tuition fee hike in their children's schools as it'll add onto their "growing financial pressures".
In the 2018-2019 academic year, parents welcomed the fees freeze in all private schools that was ordered by the Dubai government.
Now, that freeze is coming to an end as the KHDA has introduced a new fees framework, which will allow schools to hike fees. However, the framework still makes education "more affordable" compared to before, as outstanding schools can longer increase fees by double the set ECI.
One parent has already received a circular from her child's school, informing them of the upcoming 2.07-per-cent increase they'll be implementing.
"My son is in the last year of school and he's a top student there. We don't want it to affect him. We're currently paying Dh90,000, and there's been no increments in salaries. So, any increase in fees does affect our budgets," the parent said.
Another parent, Rafat Fouzia, said: "I don't understand why there is a need for schools to increase fees, whereas, education level remains the same. And when you ask the school about this, they threaten you straight away and say that you are free to choose some other school."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com