No rise in nursery fees in 2011-2012

Parents in the UAE need not worry about any increase in fees for their children at local nurseries in the next scholastic year as they will not be allowed to raise their charges in line with a government decision.

The ministry of social affairs, which supervises nurseries and associated institutions, said it would allow them to raise fees once every three years but stressed that any increase must be justified.

In comments published in local Arabic language newspapers, a ministry official said there is a big gap in such fees, ranging from Dh5,000 a year at some nurseries to as high as Dh45,000 at other establishments.

“There will be no rise in nursery fees during the 2011-2012 scholar year…the ministry of social affairs is working on a new mechanism to organize fees at these institutions for the next stage,” said Mouza Al Shoumi, director of the children’s department at the ministry.

“From now on, the increase must be every three years for the existing nurseries…as for new nurseries, they will be allowed to raise fees three years after they are established…nurseries seeking to raise their fees must apply in April so we will have a chance to notify families about the increase and give them a chance to decide whether to accept or seek a cheaper nursery.”

Shoumi said the ministry would approve fee rises by nurseries only after they submit good reasons for their decision, adding that the ministry had recently rejected applications for fee hikes by six nurseries.

Ministry figures showed the UAE has 248 private nurseries, accommodating more than 19,000 children, while there are 26 government nurseries.

“We are also working on system to give five classifications to nurseries, including A, B, C, D and H….the last classification is unwanted in the UAE.”

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