Dubai: On Tuesday, April 2, Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced that private schools in Dubai will be eligible for a 2.6 per cent increase in tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year.
But does that mean that your child’s school will be increasing their tuition fees in the coming academic year?
Who does the fee increase apply to?
When it comes to school fee increases in Dubai, it is important to remember that the rate by which schools can increase fees is tied to each school’s most recent inspection rating from the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB).
How do I check my child’s school’s rating?
The DSIB ratings are announced once every year, and rate schools on a six-point scale – very weak, weak, acceptable, good, very good and outstanding.
These ratings are announced after DSIB conducts school inspections, which are done at different times of the year based on the curriculum of the schools. For example, earlier this month, KHDA had announced the DSIB ratings for Indian and Pakistan schools for this academic year.
You can find your school’s latest rating through the ‘School Fees Fact sheet’, which is also issued every year. To know more about how you can get the fact sheet for your child’s school, read our detailed guide here.
Can my child’s school increase tuition fees?
According to the announcement by KHDA, private schools that have dropped in the annual ratings will not be eligible for any fee increase.
Private schools that maintain the same inspection rating will be eligible to increase their fees by 2.6 per cent. So, if your child's school rating did not improve last year, the 5.2 per cent increase does not apply to them.
On the other hand, schools that did improve their rating in the most recent inspections will be eligible to increase their fees according to the methodology outlined in the School Fees Framework. The School Fees Framework is released by KHDA, which determines the criteria that can be used for fee increase by schools.
According to the announcement, the improvement in ratings will affect the increase in fees as follows:
- 'Weak' to 'Acceptable' or from 'Acceptable' to 'Good' - schools an increase fees by by up to two times the ECI of 2.6 per cent(5.6 per cent).
- 'Good' to 'Very Good' - schools can increase fees by up to 1.75 times the ECI of 2.6 per cent (4.55 per cent).
- 'Very Good' to 'Outstanding' - schools can increase fees by up to 1.5 times the ECI of 2.6 per cent (3.9 per cent).
Also, KHDA reiterated that any fee adjustment by schools must be approved by KHDA.
