For most expatriates, moving to Dubai from their countries of origin seems like the most obvious lifestyle choice they have ever made. But as soon as the ink has dried on their contract papers and they have enrolled their children in private school and have settled down to enjoy Dubai’s life, school fee problems start to crop up. They soon realize that their expatriate’s package does not include school fees which keep on rising at the end of every year. The school fees suddenly become a financial burden they had not anticipated when they took up their new jobs.
Regulating School Fees in Dubai
School fees in Dubai are kept in harmony by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which was fashioned by Ministry of Education UAE and allowed local municipalities to lay down fee structures within the Emirates. In the year 2007, Knowledge and Human Development Authority imposed a cap to keep fees from sky rocketing. But most parents are a frustrated lot, the reason being that, not-for-profit, embassy affiliated, and international accredited schools are exempted from the rules and regulations of KHDA. The reasoning behind this is that, internationally accredited institutions offer programs which are specialized, while not-for-profit schools plough funds back into their school’s system.
Although nobody can deny the added benefits of attending a school with high standard of education, most expatriate parents are feeling the pinch. They have come to realize that what looked like a good salary package when they first got the job they are in is no longer enough to cater for their children’s education while in Dubai. Due to this, most people are terribly awakened when they arrive and start residing in Dubai.
However, the majority of people in the middle and upper management levels have their children’s school fees being paid by their employers as they negotiate their renewal contracts so as to deal with the situation. And to say the truth, that is the market force impact in any growing economy.
Reasoning behind the high fees
Most schools which offer international curricula in Dubai justify the high fee they charge by claiming that the cost of recruiting and training an highly experienced teacher has sky rocketed. They also claim that everything in Dubai have always fluctuated with the cost of living which is normally high and with inflation, thus the justification for charging high school fees.
