Up to 6% in 3 cases
3% Fee Adjustment Rate in Private Schools in Dubai
The Authority is working with stakeholders to plan for the new academic year. Archival
Mohammed Darwish: "The quality of education is one of the pivotal elements for calculating school fee adjustments in Dubai."
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The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai has approved the annual rate of 2023% for the amendment of school fees in private schools for the academic year (2024-3).
According to the framework for controlling school fees, private schools that maintained their evaluation according to the results of school inspection for the current academic year (2023/2022), and schools that raise their evaluation to the highest level, between the level of "very poor" to the level of "good", have the right to submit a request to increase their fees by 6%.
The Authority stated that the approval of the percentage of adjustment of school fees for the next academic year was based on a study of the economic and academic situation in the private school education system in Dubai, taking into account the interests of all concerned parties, and ensuring the continued improvement of the quality and sustainability of education in the various educational curricula applied in private schools.
She explained that the decision to increase the fees of private schools is based on the framework of "controlling school fees in the emirate", which links the assessment of the quality of education in each private school with the annual percentage scheduled for the adjustment of fees for the next academic year 2023-2024.
According to the framework, a private school that maintained the same evaluation for the last full cycle of school inspection (for the current academic year) has the right to request an amendment of its fees equivalent to the prescribed percentage. If they record a decline in their evaluation, they are not entitled to request an adjustment of fees for the new academic year, while private schools that achieve significant progress in their performance within the school inspection evaluations can apply for an amendment of their fees according to the categories included in the framework of controlling school fees.
Mohammed Ahmed Darwish, Executive Director of the Permits and Compliance Sector at the Authority, said: "The methodology used in the framework for controlling school fees in private schools in Dubai is based on the quality of education, as one of the pivotal elements for calculating school fee adjustments, in order to meet the needs of parents on the one hand, and enhance the quality of the various educational options available to them on the other hand, as well as enhance competitiveness in the private education sector by motivating private schools to improve their performance in the quality of education classifications in the Authority."
He added that «the competent work teams in the authority are working with the concerned parties transparently to help them in the thoughtful planning of the new academic year in a way that enhances the sustainability of the quality of education in our schools».
The authority told "Emirates Today" that the framework for controlling school fees in Dubai allows the private school that raises its evaluation - according to the school inspection - from the category of "very poor" to "poor", or from the category of "poor" to "acceptable", and from the category of "acceptable" to the category of "good" to request an amendment of its fees equivalent to twice the prescribed percentage (equivalent to 6%), while the private school that maintained the same evaluation for the last full cycle of school inspection has the right to request an amendment of its fees equivalent to Percentage assessed (3%).
The private school that upgrades its rating from "good" to "very good" has the right to amend its fees by the equivalent of the prescribed percentage multiplied by 1.75, and the school that raises its rating from "very good" to the "outstanding" category has the right to request an amendment of its fees equivalent to the prescribed percentage multiplied by 1.5, and if the school records a decline in its rating, it is not entitled to request an amendment of its fees for the next academic year.
Private schools in Dubai have recorded a 4.5 per cent increase in student enrolment since the end of the last academic year, and private schools in Dubai are implementing 17 diverse educational curricula.
On the other hand, the current academic year witnessed an increase in the number of private schools in the emirate to 216 schools, with the opening of four new schools, among the 22 new private schools opened in the emirate during the past three years, in addition to the increase of students enrolled in private schools in Dubai by 4.5% during the same academic year, compared to the end of the last academic year, with a total of 326,<> students.
The number of Emirati students enrolled in private schools in Dubai is 32,327, of whom more than 60% are enrolled in the American curriculum, followed by the British curriculum at 24%, in addition to 16,418 students of determination enrolled in private schools in the emirate.
Conditions for increase
The "School Fees Control Framework" identified three general conditions for increasing school fees, first: A school with a rating (acceptable or lower) is required to submit a plan that includes how to invest in the educational process to improve the quality of education in the school.
Second: If the school decides to restructure the fees, by reducing its fees, it may not return to the fees before the restructuring, and the increase in school fees according to the framework applies to the fees after structuring.
Third, if the school decides not to benefit from the increase in school fees granted, the increase cannot be carried over to the following school year or years.