salaries have not increased in the past five to six years, but the cost of living seems to increase every year (“Two Indian schools in Dubai eligible to raise fees 6.42 per cent”, Gulf News, February 21). Families with children in school are the ones most affected. Firstly, landlords are increasing their rent every year, without giving any consideration to the lack of increase in earnings for tenants. On top of that, a few Indian schools are increasing the fees by five to six per cent year after year. The fee for a student in secondary school is an average of Dh5,000 per month, which is equal to the monthly salary of a sales executive in some companies. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority ( KHDA) is doing a good job by rating the schools and the quality of their education, but it should not give them the permission to increase school fees every year. One of the school groups has so many unnecessary expenses, which has nothing to do with educating the child, but is for their own promotion and is ultimately paid for, by the parents. Imagine if an agency gives a good rating to a restaurant and they increase their prices every year! Ultimately, it will lose all its customers. But, in the case of a school, parents have no easy solution, as the number of schools are in short supply and a few educational institutions are misusing their monopoly to the maximum, by hiking fees. Increases in house rent and school fees should be linked to an index of annual salary increases.
Page last updated 31 December 2019