dubai — Asian and community schools have urged the UAE government to consider offering free water and electricity or at least significant concessions to them as some schools incur up to Dh800,000 annually on these utilities.
A number of principals say free land or rent rebates can help them operate in the wake of rising costs, while others reason that only a 150 per cent increase in tuition fee can make them sustainable.
“Running the school has become a nightmare,” says Asma Malik, principal of His Highness Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistan School.“We spend about Dh8,000 every month on water and electricity and have to bear other operational costs.
“Since we are a community school, our fee structures are quite low and we try and provide the best facilities, in accordance with the government standards. This is the reason we need concessions or reduced water and electricity rates to ease our burden,” says the head of the school.
She adds that since the school’s land had been donated by the government, there was some respite for the management.
Officials from Sharjah Indian School, which is owned and managed by the Indian Association in the emirate, notes that the school was reeling under increasing costs.
K.N.N Pillai, principal, observes that the cost of hiring a teacher had also increased during the past few years with visas becoming more expensive.
“We also gave our teachers 25 per cent increments this year. But our transport and tuition fee remain the same,” he says adding that the school was considering requesting authorities for utility waivers.
Similarly, Indian High School saw a 13 per cent increase in utilities, while rental expenses went up by over five times compared to last year.
“Today, it is the survival of the fittest for schools,” explains Dr Farooq Wasil, director of Gems group’s Asia schools. The group’s statistics reveal that teachers’ salaries in home countries, particularly India, have gone up by 76 per cent in the last four years, making it increasingly harder to attract teachers to the UAE. “Only if some of our Asian schools hike tuition fees by 100 to 150 per cent, can we sustain ourselves.
“Annual fee increases between Dh12,000 and Dh 20,000 are reasonable for these schools, which now charge only up to Dh8,000 per annum,” adds Dr Wasil.
He says that schools should be given free land, water and electricity or be charged a token fee on these services as they are educational establishments.
“We will be approaching the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) expressing our concerns. While driving standards, they must recognise that quality education comes at a cost that has to be aligned with market reality and Gems is facing a challenge in maintaining this quality,” he says.
KHDA, which monitors private and public schools in Dubai, capped the maximum allowable fees, for this academic year, by 16 per cent over two years.
In an earlier interview Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education, told Khaleej Times, that any sort of concessions could be possible.
“We are always looking at creative ways to reduce our costs and to provide a quality education.
The specific issues are certainly interesting but that type of decision would need to be made with the participation of several other governmental entities.”