Dubai schools asking for advance fees? They can

Dubai schools can decide on the fee payment schedule based on their individual needs, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has clarified.

“Given that schools operating in Dubai cater to different communities with various needs, KHDA gives schools the flexibility to fix their payment schedules in line with these needs,” Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at KHDA, explained.

“Some schools have a monthly payment schedule while others have term-based schedules. Some have just two payments in a year while others have four.

“This is entirely up to the schools, based on their needs and the needs of the parents and students they cater to.”

Emirates24|7 had contacted the education regulatory authority after a few parents raised concerns over being asked to make advance payment for their children’s school fees.

“Some schools in the UAE are asking parents to pay tuition fee much ahead of the beginning of the semester/term,” a parent wrote in his e-mail.

She had raised this issue first with the KHDA, who had initially stated that all “school fees are due and payable on the first day of the semester or the month”.

The education board, however, later clarified that “in line with current School Fees Framework published by KHDA in April 2012, the timing of the fee payment is entirely up to the schools and as per the fee schedule provided to parents at the start of the academic year”.

During their correspondence with the parent, they added, “This is a flexibility that KHDA has afforded schools in order to plan their financial resources better.

“Until the timing of the fees can be fixed by KHDA, schools are free to time the payment of the tuition fees in line with the schedule published at the start of the year.”

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