Dubai: A total of 117 private schools in Dubai have received approval to increase their fees by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), for the next academic year, Gulf News can reveal.
June 11 was the last day for schools to apply for a fee increase and according to the KHDA, 117 schools were granted approval to increase their fees. Ten other applications are still being processed. The KHDA did not name the 117 schools which got approval to increase the fees.
This fee increase is applicable for the next academic year, which will start in April 2016 for Indian schools in Dubai and August 30 this year for the rest of the private schools in the emirate.
The percentage of fees is determined by their inspection ratings. The higher they scored on their rating, the more they can increase their fees.
This increase is based on the Education Cost Index (ECI) for the academic year 2015/16, which is 2.92 per cent, the KHDA announced in February.
The ECI is calculated annually by the Dubai Statistics Centre which takes into account the consumer price index and school operation costs, including remuneration, rent and utilities.
Based on the new ECI, schools rated ‘outstanding’ (the highest rating) in the KHDA’s latest inspections (2014/15 inspections) can increase their fees by 5.84 per cent (double the ECI). Similarly, schools rated ‘good’ can increase their fees by 4.38 per cent (1.5 times the ECI), while schools rated acceptable or unacceptable can increase their fees only by 2.92 per cent.
This ECI is only applicable for the academic year 2015/16.
However, some schools are expected to receive an exception to increase their fees more than the permitted percentage for the academic year 2015/16.
In the last KHDA inspections, 14 schools were rated outstanding, 59 schools got ‘good’, 27 schools were rated ‘acceptable’ and nine schools were found unsatisfactory. The fee framework, which has been applied for the past four years, has been developed in line with the strategic goals of KHDA and is connected with Dubai School Inspection Bureau’s quality indicators. The KHDA says the framework motivates schools to improve the quality of education, while at the same time protecting the interests of both parents and investors.