Dubai moves to regulate ‘other’ school charges
DUBAI 27 March 2019: The maximum a private school in Dubai can raise tuition fees is by 4.14 per cent, according to the new School Fees Framework developed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
As for the fees for non-educational services, such as school transportation, uniforms and school supplies, which are not included in the school fees, and taking into account the interests of parents, the KHDA proposed regulating any increase in these services in coordination with the concerned authorities.
In 2018, the Dubai Statistics Center has valued the education cost index at 2.07, accordingly, eligible private schools will be allowed to modify their school fees for the upcoming academic year according to the latest assessment of Dubai School Inspection Bureau, which will be announced later in the current academic year.
No Hike Allowed: Private profitable schools in which the quality of education is declining as assessed by Dubai School Inspection Bureau will not be allowed to increase their fees.
2.07% Increase: Private profitable schools, which maintain their ranking (evaluation) will be allowed to increase their fees by the same value of the education cost index.
As per the quality of education index in Dubai private schools over the past years, about 90 per cent of students are not likely to have their fees increased (in the upcoming academic year 2019-2020) by more than the value of education cost index estimated at 2.07 per cent, meaning that only 10 per cent of students will have their school fees increased by more than 2.07%.
3.105% Increase: Accordingly, private schools whose ranking has improved from Very Good to Outstanding will be allowed to increase their fees by 1.5 times of the education cost index value.
3.62% Increase: Schools whose assessment moves from Good to Very Good will be allowed to increase their fees by 1.75 times.
4.14% Increase: Schools which move from very weak category to weak or from weak to acceptable will be allowed to increase their fees by the double of 2.07.
The School Fees Framework, which will come into effect as of the next academic year 2019-2020, is projected to strike a balance between parents’ needs and private schools’ requirements to improve the quality of education.
The framework has been developed based on the annual assessment by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) and the education cost index approved by Dubai Statistics Center (DSC) to motivate private schools to enhance their performance and reward them when they improve the quality of education.
The framework was presented to Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who affirmed that education is a top government priority.
The framework takes into account the interests of students and their parents, as they are the beneficiaries of educational services. It also ensures creating a conducive environment for educational service providers to help them improve the quality of education in Dubai through an integrated mechanism that regulates school fees, considering the educational and economic aspects.
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