As if having kids wasn’t expensive enough a new report has revealed that school fees are going up.
While the cost of nannies are extremely affordable in the UAE – a welcome relief for most mummies – unfortunately the cost of child education is anything but… and it’s going to get much worse, however not everyone will feel the pinch.
Sending your child to a top school is going to cost you, a lot!
Currently the fee hike is for private schools with costs for 2016-2017, increasing by a minimum of 3.21 per cent and up to a maximum of 6.42 per cent. The increase is according to the new Education Cost Index (ECI), which has risen from 2.92 per cent last year to 3.21 per cent, and varies according to the school’s rating.
The announcement was made by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which revealed that the ECI is calculated on an annual basis by the Dubai Statistics Centre, who calculate fees after taking into account school operation costs, including remuneration, rent, electricity, teachers’ wages and utilities.
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Mohammad Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at KHDA, said: “The fee framework has been updated to align with the new six-scale UAE School Inspection framework, which determines the quality of education in schools.”
While Mohammad insists “it protects parents from arbitrary increases and provides an effective mechanism to balance the expectations of school investors and parents,” one parent, who asked not to be named, is not so sure. “School fees are incredible expensive in Dubai. While I want my child to have the best education possible, my husband and I also don’t want to be bankrupt.”
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According to the ECI schools rated Outstanding can increase fees to 6.42 per cent. Very Good can increase fees to 5.62 per cent. Good to 4.82 per cent. Acceptable to 3.21 per cent. Weak and Very Weak to 3.21 per cent of the ECI while those rated ‘Good’ can increase fees by 1.5 per cent of the ECI.
If you are not sure on the ranking of your child’s school, check out the rankings table by Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
Image: Getty
