Dubai school fee hike: Parents still unclear

Some education groups will have different timings that will vary with each school. (Ashok Verma)

Published Wednesday, May 06, 2015

By Sneha May Francis

Over a month after ‘Emirates24|7’ reported about an Indian private school’s ‘unauthorised fee hike’, parents are still unclear on what their child’s school fees for the new academic year will be.

“We don’t know how much to pay. There has been no communication with the school over the new fees,” said a parent, requesting anonymity. “The payment for last month has been put on hold. We are yet to get any update from the school.”

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) had stepped in to revoke fee hike at Elite English School after parents objected to the introduction of Dh3,300 ‘mandatory fees for the optional activities’.

“This is across all grades, and doesn’t justify the amount,” complained another parent.

Elite English School had received an ‘acceptable’ ranking from the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB). Based on this grading, it is allowed to increase the tuition fee by 2.92 per cent for the new academic year 2015-16.

“KHDA is aware of the situation at Elite School and has taken necessary action to resolve the issue,” said Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at KHDA.

When this website contacted the school, officials refused to comment. “We are told that no queries on fee hike will be clarified to the media,” an official said.

Elite English School offers classes from KG1 to Grade 12, and the annual fees range between Dh4,053 and Dh8,907.

In an earlier statement, the education regulatory board had clarified that any ‘unauthorised fee hike’ by Dubai schools will result in punitive action.

“No extra fees can be introduced by schools without KHDA’s prior approval,” Darwish clarified.

“In case of a situation where schools need approval for services they are offering, they should continue to offer the services uninterrupted until the cost is verified and the approval is obtained.

“Recently, there have been cases where some schools have continued with fee related irregularities. KHDA does not tolerate such behaviour and has been imposing punitive actions on schools that have continued the fee related non-adherences.

“Schools must get KHDA’s prior approval on all fees they are currently charging parents or planning to introduce,” he said.