Parents foot the bill, students tell Clive D'lima

Education goes a long way towards building people and their personalities, but it comes at a price. And if you gauge opinion among expatriate students and their parents here in the UAE, the feeling generally seems to be that it is a high price to pay.

On the one hand, there seems to be no dearth of programme options for students, with so many international universities opening campuses in the UAE.

But for many these opportunities and options are a little beyond reach, with the result that some students even decide to go back home for higher studies.

Notes decided to find out how students foot their higher education bills. Parents, student loans, part-time jobs ...

Students speak

Akshay Talwar
MBA, Institute of Management Technology, Dubai

How do you finance your higher education?
"In my case the finance comes from my parents. However, around 30-40 per cent of people are on a student loan."

Do you find higher education in the UAE expensive?
"Education in Dubai is quite competitive as compared to countries such as Australia and New Zealand and cheaper than that offered in UK and the US."

Shiny Asma, bio-medical engineering, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

How do you finance your higher education?
"I did part-time jobs - promotions, market surveys etc.

Do you find higher education in the UAE expensive?
"Yes, higher education is expensive compared to that in India, but not that expensive when compared to the US and UK."

Do students drop out of college because of financial reasons?
"No. All those in college are people who can afford to be there. Those who can't simply don't join."

Shiran Khan
Travel and tourism management, Skyline College, Sharjah

"My higher education is funded by my parents, but yes I also do work as a peer tutor at my college for which I get paid Dh25 per hour. I don't get paid for it in cash but as a discount in my college fees amount."

Do you find higher education in the UAE expensive?
"It is if you compare it with India."

Do students drop out of college because of financial reasons?
"I haven't heard of any dropouts. Only those who can make it pursue higher studies here.

Soumya Balachandran, MBA, Amrita School of Business, Marketing and Human Resources, and former student of the Abu Dhabi Indian School:

Do you feel higher education in the UAE expensive?
"The UAE is very expensive for higher education. If you take the case of an M.B.B.S degree in the UAE, in total 5 years of medical college will come up to about Rs4.5 million in India. Even a seat on capitation in India, would stay within Rs3 million, and if you get a seat on merit, the fee is about Rs3,000 per year."

Do students drop out of college because of financial reasons?
"No. I've heard of people coming down to India because they can't afford higher studies in the UAE."

Preeti Nayak
B.Pharm, Mahe Manipal, India, and former student of Our Own English HighSchool, Dubai:

How are you financing your higher education?
"My parents pay for my education."

Do you feel higher education in the UAE expensive?
"Yes I do, and that's the reason I came back to India for undergraduate studies."

Renjith B.E.
Engineering, Bits Pilani, Dubai Campus:

How are you financing your higher education?
"My education is being financed by my parents and it isn't easy on them."

Is higher education in the UAE is expensive?
"Education itself is expensive be it college or school."

Bina Jasmine
Travel and tourism, Skyline College, Sharjah:

How are you financing your higher education?
"My parents and I are together sponsoring it, as I had taken up evening college and was working. But I plan to sponsor my MBA."

Is higher education in the UAE is expensive?
"Of course."

Do students drop out of college because of financial reasons?
"Yes I have seen a few of my classmates drop out due to their financial problems and high expenses at college."

Bhavini Shah
Former science student at ECMIT and currently doing an M.Sc programme in New Media Informatics in the US:

Is higher education in the UAE is expensive?
"If we compare, then it's better to study abroad because you get a lot more opportunities and scholarships and loan facilities than back in the UAE. Overall the quality is not comparable to the US and India. So you pay so much for nothing."

Meysam Khorram
BBA, University of Wollongong, Dubai:

How are you financing your higher education?
"My parents; there's no way I can manage studying and working together, in the UAE."

Do you feel higher education in the UAE is expensive?
"Higher education here is expensive and the thing is there are no facilities for students like there is in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia ... such as discounts for shopping or food."

The writer is an Abu Dhabi resident currently doing his bachelors in mass media at K.C. College, Mumbai, India