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No Dubai school fee increase for 2021-22, says KHDA

Knowledge and Human Development Authority says decision is based on the approved education cost index issued by the Dubai Statistics Centre

Private schools in Dubai will not be allowed to increase fees for the next academic year, it was announced on Monday.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai said the decision has been based on the approved education cost index issued by the Dubai Statistics Centre which measures annual changes in the costs of running a school, including salaries, rent and utilities. It is the second successive year that fees have been frozen.

Mohammed Darwish, executive director of the Permits and Compliance Sector at the Knowledge Authority, said in a tweet that the private school education system in Dubai has shown “sufficient flexibility to adapt to exceptional circumstances during the last period”, referring to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He revealed an increase in the enrolment rate of students in private schools by 2.6 percent during the past three months.

@KHDA

announces that private schools in Dubai will not be increasing tuition fees for the 2021-22 academic year. This is the second consecutive year that fees for Dubai schools have remained steady.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 15, 2021

Another tweet said Dubai has witnessed the opening of about 25 new private schools during the past three years, and the emirate is currently hosting 210 private schools, which receive 286,588 students.

Last year Taaleem, the education group managing 13 schools with more than 13,700 students across the UAE, said it has seen a large rise in expenses related to its efforts to make classes safe amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

CEO Alan Williamson told Arabian Business that costs had increased by “millions of dirhams” but ruled out increasing school fees, saying the extra costs would be met “without bothering parents”.

Other coronavirus related expenditures that schools in Dubai have incurred include the installing of infrared cameras for temperature detection of teachers and students, improved signage for mask wearing and distancing, investments into technology for students who still want distance learning and resources for schools’ health clinics, including PPEs, according to Williamson.
Earlier this month, Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched an initiative to develop a new type of school to provide “high-quality education at an affordable cost”.

Sheikh Hamdan, also chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, unveiled the Dubai Schools project which will open its first two schools in Mirdif and Al Barsha in the 2021-22 academic year.

The two schools, which have an enrolment capacity of 800 students from pre-school to Grade 4 and follows an American curriculum, will open on August 29.

The project aims to create a new Emirati schooling system that provides a high standard of education rooted in national values. While preparing students for the requirements of the future job market, the new school model also seeks to deepen their Emirati, Arab and Muslim identity.

News Source: Arabian Business