Up to 90 percent of schools will not raise their fees more than 2.07% next year
25 March 2019
| Last updated on 26 March 2019This week saw the Dubai Executive Council review the Schools Fees Framework.
In a meeting chaired by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced that around 90% of private schools in the emirate will not raise their fees more than 2.07% for the next academic year.
The announcement comes as part of the new framework adopted by the council, which has linked the permissible fee hike for each private school in Dubai to its performance.
As a result, schools will now only be able to raise their fees in proportion to the change in the cost of the education indicator for 2019/2020.
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Speaking on the approval of this new framework, Sheikh Hamdan - who is also the chairman for the Executive Council - explained how "it takes into account parents' interests and efforts to obtain [an] education at an acceptable price".
The framework put forward by the KHDA also seeks to encourage the advancement of private schools in the emirate.
"No private school will be allowed to raise fees if its rating slips", he shared on his official Twitter account. "The new school fees framework will be based on encouraging schools to improve performance and maintain desired quality levels."
Annual inspections by the KHDA and Dubai Statistics Center will determine the price index for education in Dubai. As a result, the Educational Cost Index (ECI) will be shared annually - and it is on this statistic that school fees can be determined based on the school's KHDA ratings.
This new Dubai private schools fee hike limit set for the next academic year follows last year's decision by Sheikh Hamdan himself to keep school fees the same. The "immediate freeze" was put in place "in order to reduce the financial burden on parents", he shared in June last year.
How much will the increase be for Dubai school fees?
Based on the education cost index (ECI) in Dubai's private schools and KHDA results over recent years, around 90% of students are not likely to have their fees increased for the next academic year by more than 2.07%. As a result, only 10% of students will have their school fees increased by more than this figure next year.
If Dubai's private schools do not score less than they did in the previous year, they will be able to raise their fees in proportion to the change in the cost of the education indicator.
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For instance, if a school improves from 'Good' to 'Very Good', they will be able to increase their fees by 1.75 times the ECI. If a school improves from 'Very Good' to 'Outstanding', the school will be able to increase their school fees by 2 times the ECI.
The above framework applies to all tuition fees and costs for services that are provided by the school - including buses, uniforms and school books. This framework is not applicable for services provided by a third party. Fees and costs for non-tuition services by third parties should be optional for parents.
New Dubai schools and their fees increase
New private schools do not have the right to increase their tuition fees in the first three years from the date of starting their educational activity.