Parents to be Hit by 5-7% Rise in 2014 School Fees

Dubai school fees can be raised between 5 and 7 percent depending on a school's performance, according to a decision made by The Dubai Executive Council.

The fee structure will be as follows according to WAM, the country's news agency.

Outstanding schools: 7 percent
Good schools: 6 percent
Acceptable and unsatisfactory schools: 5 percent

The KHDA has yet to publish its 2014/15 report on which schools have achieved these ratings. KHDA findings are usually released in May each year.

School fee increases are set in conjunction with Dubai's Statistics Office, and track both inflation and the rising costs of running a school. Schools are not allowed any increase if the cost of education index is negative or zero.

School fees are one of the biggest financial worries for expat families in the emirate with 9 out 10 families saying they cause financial distress.

Last year school fee increases we frozen, causing some of the emirate's biggest education providers to go public with their dissatisfaction. Parents however applauded the decision.

This year, rising school fees will come at a time when rent increases, the second of the two big costs for expats, have also hit record levels.

According to the WAM release: "The cap will be implemented at times when the education index records high costs. This is a continuation of the current evaluation applied by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in its annual assessments of increases in school fees, which are heavily reliant on school performance.

"The decision aims to achieve social and economic goals reflected in the provision of education fees that are acceptable for students and parents.

"The decision aims at capping unjustified increases in school fees, [while] providing competitive rates of profitability in the education sector to ensure profitability and sustainability of the current private schools.

"These schools are... expected to attract new investors... [Higher rated schools] will be encouraged by giving [investors] a better rate of profit in comparison to other schools with weak or moderate performance.

The WAM release also notes that general inflation in Dubai will "be curbed through controlling the inflation in education within acceptable levels".