Dubai: Many residents fear that the closure of affordable schools in Dubai will result in an education crisis that will force a mass exodus as expatriates return to their home countries.
GEMS, which operates the biggest chain of private schools in Dubai, on Monday said it will be forced to closed down some of its Asian schools which are not financially viable.
Reacting to the news, many parents said if the private operator shut down the existing old Asian schools, they would be left with no reasonably priced schools to educate their children in Dubai.
In the words of Zara Hamed, an Indian housewife who has two children studying in an Indian school: "My children and I are able to stay with my husband because of these schools. The day they are closed, we will have to pack our bags and leave because we will not be able to spend any more on their education."
Zara said the school, which she refused to name, charges between Dh3,000 and Dh3,500 per year. She said around 35 per cent of her family's income was spent on expenses related to providing education for her two children, one in Grade 4 and the other in Grade 7.
The issue of school fee regulations has touched a new high with Sunny Varkey, chairman of GEMS, writing to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and seeking permission to allow his schools restructure fees for the next two or three years to absorb rising operational costs.
In his letter to the KHDA, Varkey said he would have to relocate his schools which charge an average of Dh5,000 in annual fees to new facilities because of the rental increases.
His statement came within two weeks of the KHDA barring schools from raising fees for this academic year. The KHDA had made its stand clear, saying that only schools that relocate would be allowed to increase fees this year.
Last year, Dubai schools were allowed fee hikes of between 7 and 15 per cent depending on their inspection reports.
Many other private operators have endorsed Varkey's argument.
"Our rentals are skyrocketing and nobody is intervening to help us," said an Indian operator who requested anonymity.
"If government authorities are regulating the fees, they should also be doing something about controlling the rent increases so that we can continue to function."
Many parents said they were already struggling to pay the high fees charged by many private operators and could not take yet another fee hike.
An online poll conducted by Gulf News in January this year showed that 66 per cent of the people want school fees to be reduced this year.
While 11 per cent said fees should not be allowed to increase, around 19 per cent said that schools can increase their fees depending on the quality of education they deliver.
