Update: Schools Cutting Fees for 2020/21
Last week saw Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College permanently reduce their school fees by 5% and 12% respectively. Hartland International School has followed with announced fee reductions, while on Thurday 27th August, the KHDA encouraged parents in need to have "confidential conversations" with their school.
Hartland will significantly reduce their fees for the 2020/21 academic year. Its new fee structure will see parents paying a range of fees starting from 41,000 AED for FS1 through to 74,000 AED for Year 11 (the school does not, as yet, have a Year 12 or Year 13 cohort). Previously, the same fees ranged from 49,750 AED to 78,000 AED.
Dubai Heights Academy has also joined the ranks of schools offering Covid-19 related financial support to parents. A spokesperson for the school told WhichSchoolAdvisor.com that:
"Dubai Heights Academy will return fully to school with the option of Distance Learning too. We have reduced our fees for current parents with the option of a flexible payment plan in order to ease the burdens that Covid-19 has brought. There are also discounts available for new students, and as our Secondary is due to open this year we are looking forward to welcoming their first cohorts of Year 7's."
Parents are advised to visit the Dubai Heights Academy website for further fee details.
The announcement comes soon after one of Dubai’s oldest and most prominent schools, the KHDA rated outstanding Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College (two campuses, one school, also known as DESSC) announced a permanent reduction to their fees.
In a letter to parents, seen by WhichSchoolAdvisor.com, Andrew Gibbs, Principal of DESSC, referred to economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a rationale for the change:
“Empathetically, the economic challenges wrought by Covid-19 are inescapably hitting family incomes; as a consequence we want to help our two communities as much as we can while also preserving the long-term viability of the schools”.
If your school does not have an overt blanket Covid-19 reduction in the form offered by DESC or Hartland International School, but you are facing financial difficulties, do talk to your school... Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) on Thursday 27th August, used social media to say that:
“We understand that many schools are putting together different packages to support parents who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. We encourage parents to have confidential discussions with the schools. Most of the schools that we talked to are very keen to help out as much as possible. These are the kind of conversations we would like to see between the schools and the parents themselves.”
If you are a school leader and would like WhichSchoolAdvisor.com to help communicate your new fee structure, please drop us an email at [email protected].
