A recent development that comes as a huge relief to parents whose children are schooling in Dubai is the news that most schools are lowering their tuition fees while others have frozen their prices.
Economic pressure is being cited as the main reason why a number of Dubai schools have lowered their tuition fees for the next academic year starting September.
Ranging from a reduction of 33% to about 5% in others the lowering of school fees will be a welcome windfall to most parents.
Some schools are also offering scholarship to deserving students while others have halted their increase plans.
A further 22 other schools in Dubai, meanwhile, have frozen fees, and other schools are seeking permission to lower their fees from the concerned authorities.
Top of the list is Horizon International School (HIS) in Dubai that has reduced its tuition fees by 33% to AED 65,000 for years 12 and 13 while the British school has also lowered prices for years 4 and 5 by 7% to AED 48,335.
Foremarke School Dubai, part of Evolvence Knowledge Investments (EKI), has also revised its fees and reduced them by 10% from FS1 to year 6, starting next academic year.
Prices for primary level at the school start at AED 34,500 for Foundation Stage, and were as high as AED 96,000 for upper levels.
The school will also launch 5 scholarships for students who excel across five categories including academics, performing arts, sports, music and all round performance, which will offer them a 5-10 % discount on annual school fees. It will also introduce a partner nursery discount of 15% on school fees for students of Dovecote Nursery starting September for the first year only.
Its sister school, Repton, has also lowered fees by an average of 10% and has halted fees on Junior School for the next academic year.
In line with its 10th anniversary, the school is launching 10 scholarships for students, who will be offered a 10% discount on annual school fees. Three scholarships will be across year 5, two across year 6, three across year 7 and two across year 8.
UAE residents have been ruing the rise in fees for quite some time now while some educationists feel private school fees are too high in the region thereby threatening to exclude poorer children from the education system.
According to a study released by HSBC, last year, sending a child to school in UAE, from primary to university, will cost about $99,378 (Dh365,025), the second highest in the world.
Parents in the country shell out nearly half a million dirhams in their lifetime just to ensure their child gets the full education they need.
The data, released by HSBC’s The Value of Education series in 2017 were based on the survey of more than 8,400 parents in 15 countries and territories.
Families from the surveyed countries spend an average of $44,221 on child’s education, much lower than the fees incurred by households in the UAE.
The cost covers tuition fees, educational books, transport and accommodation.
A 2016 report by Colliers consultancy showed British schools in the country should reduce their prices in line with a slowing economy as school fees have been on an upward trend over the past few years.
Not-for-profit schools (saw fees rise by 5.4% for the 2017-2018 academic year. And over the course of five years, fees have risen by a drastic 32.3%.
It is unlikely schools’ revenues will be affected, according to the institutions, as the lower prices are expected to attract more students.
Although, the newly introduced value-added tax (VAT) may not apply to school fees, parents will still find that educational costs are increasing as books, stationery, and uniforms are all subject to the 5% tax.
In spite of the increase cost in school related items and the overall rise in the other commodity prices the news of decreased or halted fees will surely please parents especially those who have more than one kid and those whose children are in higher classes.
Source:
*Dubai schools lower fees due to ‘economic pressure’– By Lubna Hamdan, Arabian Business
* A Load Of Dubai Schools Are Reducing Their Fees – By Tom Paye, Your Money
