Nurseries warned against fee hikes

Nurseries in the UAE seeking to raise their fees for the new scholastic year must get prior official approval or they could be penalised, an official was quoted on Saturday as saying.

The Ministry of Social Affairs has already fined some nurseries which raised their fees by 12 to 35 per cent and forced them to return overpaid funds to children’s relatives, said Mouza Al Shoumi, director of the children affairs at the ministry.

“Any nursery wishing to raise its registration fees must first inform the ministry to avert punishment following complaints by parents that some nurseries have raised such fees,” she told the Arabic language newspaper 'Emarat Al Youm'.

She said nurseries which have raised fees in violation of existing laws were mostly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, adding that they have justified their move to higher operation costs.

“Under existing laws, all nurseries are not allowed to raise fees without a prior permission by the ministry of social affairs,” she said.

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