Sharjah Fee Increase: 66% of Schools Approved

Fee increases for almost two-thirds of the private schools in Sharjah have just been approved for the academic year 2014-15 by the Sharjah Education Zone. Speaking to Sharjah-based Arabic daily newspaper Al Khaleej, Hessa Al Khaja, Head of Special and Quality Education, Sharjah Education Zone, said the increase will range between two per cent and five per cent. There are currently 94 private schools operating in Sharjah and sixty of these have been granted permission to increase their tuition fees. Al Khaja said that SEZ had undertaken a series of visits over four months to determine individual schools' eligibility to increase their fees. The four key criteria used to assess whether schools should be allowed to hike their fees included: school buildings had to meet specified standards; evidence must have been presented that administrative requirements were being adhered to; the school had to prove that they were employing qualified educational and technical staff including assistants; and evidence of community service had to be presented. The schools included 47 private schools following the American, British, other international curricula (e.g Australian) along with the Ministry of Education curriculum. Thirteen further schools following either the Indian or Pakistani curricula were permitted to increase their fees.