DUBAI - The 16 per cent cap on fee hike by private schools announced yesterday has sent shivers down the spine of parents. They fear the schools would start sending letters informing them of the fee increase.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced yesterday that schools could hike their fees up to 16 per cent. Those who had already increased the fees this academic year were ineligible for any increase in the coming year.
“As a parent, I am at the receiving end of any hike - be it two or 16 per cent. The cost of living and the salaries we earn are disproportionate. I am seriously thinking of sending my child back home at the end of this year as I really have no other alternative,” said a parent from the International School of Choueifat.
She pays nearly Dh30,000 annually as fees to the school. “For a lesser amount, my child can study in a reputed international school, which will provide both boarding and lodging, back home,” she added.
A parent of a student of Dubai International Academy (DIA) said the decision, instead of alleviating her fears, had only added to them. “The very thought of another increase gives me the jitters. I am dreading the day I would receive a letter from the school stating the increase,” she said.
AS per KHDA norms, Choueifat School has the option of increasing its fees by 4 per cent this year as it had imposed a 12 per cent hike this year. The DIA, on the other hand, can increase up to 16 per cent as it had not raised its fees this year.
Dubai Modern High School parents are on tenterhooks as the school has been talking of plans to relocate to a new campus. According to KHDA norms, schools that are relocating or undergoing significant renovation are exempted from the 16 per cent ceiling and the officials would deal with the cases individually, depending on the investment and the infrastructure being offered.
“I am really waiting with bated breath as the school has been talking of relocating for a while. We really don’t know what kind of a fee increase we are in for. Many parents feel trapped as it is the only school in Dubai that offers the ICSE curriculum,” said a mother of a student.
She noted that the new facilities like cricket grounds are of no interest to her as her daughter has little interest in cricket.
“Education has become commercialised and regulating it with a ceiling offers little consolation to parents like us. The 16 per cent hike in fees is quite steep. A reasonable increase would have been 10 per cent once in three years,” said a parent of a pupil at the Dubai Modern High School.
Schools, on the other hand, welcomed the KHDA’s announcement of 16 per cent ceiling on fee hike. They also welcomed the option of being treated as special cases if they were relocating or were a community school.
Jonathan Price, principal of the Jebel Ali Primary School, said, “As a non-profit school, we didn’t take advantage of the 16 per cent hike last year. We only increased the fees required to cover our costs. However, as long as the percentage of increase in the fees is reflective of current market conditions, it is always a good move.”
Delhi Public School principal Rashmi Nandkeolyar said, “Government control is always necessary as education is a social and not a commercial venture. Schools have to also increase fees as there is a genuine need. A regulatory body that oversees the fairness of the increase is in the public interest and keeps at bay unscrupulous elements.”
The principal of an international school, who did not want to be named, said for any economy to work effectively, a free market and deregulation were the way forward.
By Preeti Kannan (Our staff reporter)