No Fee Increase for Dubai Schools - KHDA

Dubai's school regulator has announced that there will be no fee increases permitted for the next academic year.  

The announcement follows the release of the annual Education Cost Index (ECI) which is calculated by the Dubai Statistics Centre.  This measures the annual changes in the costs of running a school including salaries, rent and utilities.

The ECI for this year stands at -2.58 per cent.  

Some schools will still be permitted to increase fees under exceptional circumstances. WhichSchoolAdvisor.com knows of two GEMS schools, GEMS Winchester School and Cambridge International School, which have received approval for fee increases under KHDA's exceptional fee criteria.  

Both schools relocated to larger, higher quality sites at the start of the 2020-21 academic year.  Reflecting on the current situation with regard to fees, a GEMS spokesperson commented,

“GEMS Education schools follow the directives and guidance of the government regulators in all matters concerning tuition fees. In Dubai, increases are determined by the Education Cost Index, and schools are only able to raise fees with approval from KHDA. Accordingly, we will follow the official guidance that has been issued.”

The fee changes at the GEMS Winchester School will apply to all students joining the school from April 2021 for the current and upcoming 2021-22 academic years, at its new campus near IMG, Dubailand.  The new fees at Cambridge International School will apply to all students from September 2021.

Since the publication of this article, GEMS Education have clarified that, in the case of both schools, the fee increases were 'previously deferred' and not 'new' for the coming year.