After the release of the latest school ratings this week, school fees in Dubai are expected to rise yet again. In line with the government rating of the school and the Education Cost Index (ECI) the increase for the new school year from September (2017-2018) will vary between 2.4% and 4.8%.
School fee increases in Dubai are linked to the annual ECI which is announced by Dubai Statistics Centre. The latest ECI has been set at 2.4%, with schools allowed to raise fees by up to double the ECI, depending on their rating.
‘Outstanding’ schools are entitled to raise their fees up to 4.8% - twice the ECI - for the new academic year. ‘Very good’ schools can increase fees by up to 4.2% and ‘good’ schools by 3.6%, while ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’, and ‘very weak’ schools are allowed a maximum 2.4% increase.
Of the 159 schools inspected this academic year, 16 schools were rated ‘outstanding’, 14 ‘very good’, 69 ‘good’, 50 ‘acceptable’ and 10 ‘weak’. None was rated ‘very weak’.
UK schools are expected to see the biggest increase as they make up 10 of the 16 ‘outstanding’ schools. The news means that the families of almost 29,500 students who study in the 16 ‘outstanding’ schools are looking at a fee increase of 4.8%.
Though some schools have made the decision not to raise their fees. The Taaleem school group (which has nine schools in the UAE) would not be increasing fees for the new 2017-18 academic year. The Taaleem group will also offer further sibling discounts and improved payment terms. The news was understandably welcomed by parents in November 2016 allowing people to plan their finances. All Taaleem’s Dubai schools were rated ‘outstanding’ and ‘very good’.
The new school ratings were announced by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) after the latest round of its annual inspections.
The full inspection report is available on www.khda.gov.ae