Fee hike limit for Dubai private schools

It's going to be much more difficult for private schools in Dubai to raise their fees.

It comes after a new framework was approved by the Dubai Executive Council to regulate school fees in the emirate.

Under the new regulations, around 90 per cent of students will not have their tuition increased by more than 2.07 per cent, which is the Education Cost Index (ECI) set by Dubai Statistics Centre for this year.

Instead, schools will be encouraged to improve their performance and maintain higher quality levels.

Fee increases are now directly linked with improvements in the annual inspection ratings, which means schools dropping in the ratings will no longer be allowed to charge more.

According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), schools improving their rating from ‘weak’ or ‘acceptable’ will be allowed to hike their fees by double the ECI.

Schools improving from ‘very good’ to ‘outstanding’ will be eligible for 1.5 times the ECI, while those moving from ‘good’ to ‘very good’ will benefit from 1.75 times the ECI.

Meanwhile, schools that have maintained the same inspection ratings will only be allowed to increase their fees on par with the annual ECI.

The updated framework comes into effect from the next academic year.

On Monday, ARN News reported that a Dubai school is reducing its tuition fees by up to AED 10,000.

During the Dubai Executive Council meeting today, we approved a new framework to regulate school fees, put forward by the @KHDA. It takes into account parents’ interests and efforts to obtain education at an acceptable price, while encouraging the advancement of private schools. pic.twitter.com/FeuQwLwRfN

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 25, 2019