Abu Dhabi school to refund fee hike after Adec steps in

In a landmark ruling, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) ordered a private British school to refund the fee hike they had charged parents as it was not in line with the education regulatory board’s rulebook.

The British International School Abu Dhabi (BISAD) stated that the 5 per cent increase in fees for the academic year 2013-14 was communicated to Adec.

This was reportedly disputed by the regulatory board, which later ordered the school to refund the parents.

The school had earlier communicated the fee-hike to the parents through a letter signed by the Principal.

It introduced a maintenance charge of Dh2,000 for every student and a non-refundable entry fee of Dh2,500 for year 1 and Dh9,000 for other grades.

The issue was escalated to Adec, which stepped in and reportedly claimed the fee-hike was illegal.

Soon enough, the school backtracked, and a new letter citing the revised fees was sent out to the parents on September 1.

The extra cash that was collected was promised to be returned.

Parents were, however, unsure if the amount would be refunded immediately or held over and adjusted with next year’s fee.

When Emirates 24|7 contacted the school for a clarification, an official explained that the principal was busy addressing students and parents at the orientation programme.

She, however, confirmed that parents were personally handed out letters that explained the crisis and how they will be refunded.

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