Tuition fees hike drives Dubai's 2009 inflation rate

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EDUCATION COSTS: The rise in tuition fees drove Dubai's inflation rate in 2009, latest statistics showed.

Education costs in Dubai soared by 18.6 percent in 2009 according to new figures from the government.

The huge rise was attributed to increases in tuition fees across the emirate.

Dubai shoppers were also forced to pay more for their clothing and footwear, which saw an increase of 9.86 percent from 2008. Restaurants and hotels were on average 7.36 percent more expensive, while alcohol and tobacco products rose 5.61 percent.

The figures were published in a report which revealed the emirate’s inflation rate was 4.06 percent in 2009.

Goods and services were divided into 12 main expenditure groups. Healthcare costs rose 5.31 percent, transport by 4.36 percent and housing and utilities by 2.41 percent.

Earlier this month the director general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority said school fee hikes would not be justified this year.

Dr Abdullah Al Karam said that fees must reflect current cheaper rental costs, and added that talks about new fee caps are underway with the Ministry of Education.

Last year schools were allowed to raise fees by seven to 15 percent depending on their performance – the better the performance the higher the fee increase allowed.

This year, additional criteria may be included for schools to be able to raise fees.

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READERS' COMMENTS

GREEDY PROPERTY OWNERS, SCHOOLS & FREE ZONES
Posted by Joe, Dubai, UAE on Friday 29 January 2010 at 11:59 UAE time


Who has to be blamed for this unusual/cruel hike in rates of School Fees, Residential & commercial rents and not forgetting the Inflation? Well this is not a million dollar question!!!

Well, everything revovles around hike in fuel rate (rise in cost of Transportation of goods & services) that affects our daily life. To make the matter worse, there was sudden surge in real estate agents and property developer, so was their endless greed. Well, in this race all were affected bcoz the basic cost shot up and all had the much excusable reason to increase the cost of everything up for sale/rent of goods & services. The % of increase of rate of goods & services (inflation), was it justifiable? Even in current state, the landlords/real estate agents are authoritatively increasing the rent because RERA has empowered them the basis to do so through their rental index (without placing any conditions). Industries/Business' world wide are suffering and adopting serious measures from down sizing to shutting down the business. Surprisingly, the free zones in Dubai are not deterred by this global phenomenon on the contrary they are increasing the rent (discouraging the local biz) because they believe the clients will not close the business but quitely pay the increased rent. This act is reflection of their arrogance of success; you (business owners) have no choice but do/pay as we wish.

It is good to adopt the most successful biz module existing in the world but the same has to be manifested within home environment without hurting their existing state of being.

During the boom time, the word was around; "Dubai is home only for the rich and the very rich". THE WORLD CANNOT LIVE WITH RICH PEOPLE ONLY, IT NEEDS THE OTHERS TOO, TO BECOME WEALTHIER.

So, who is responsible???????????????? GUESS U KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS...

Ruthless greed and immoral - Government lost control
Posted by Alain, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 28 January 2010 at 10:42 UAE time


I agree with all comments. It has become ridiculously unjustifiable and immoral to raise school fees in the last few years to the levels that we have seen. Considering the state of the world and local economy, it defies all common sense and the ruthless GREED of owners has taken over all logic and economic sense. Education is just an excuse for these owners to make money.

Someone please explain to me why it would make sense that it costs about DOUBLE the money to send one child to PRIMARY, MIDDLE, or HIGH school in Dubai than it would cost to send the same child through a reputable western UNIVERSITY. How insane is that? How can the owners justify that? All of my friends with College or University level kids are doing much better financially now that the kids have moved on to higher education back home (where ever it is).

Many have left the UAE in the past few years because they could not cope with high rents and high school fees anymore. I personally know many of them. We all do!

What is the government waiting for? It should be illegal to increase fees if owners profit margin is so high as it is right now. Status quo should prevail for the next 5 years at least...

SCHOOL FEES
Posted by Billy, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 28 January 2010 at 10:28 UAE time


I have 4 children all of whom have been or are being educated at well known, long established British curriculum schools. I have no complaint at all about the level of education my kids have received but at what cost? They are now charging me in excess of Aed75,000 per child per year, with one of the colleges also demanding a 20,000 dirham debenture per child to secure their places! The reasons the schools give for their massive increases are ludicrous in this time of falling or stable costs - accommodation costs, increasing utility bills and worst of all rising salary bills to tempt UK teachers to come to Dubai. All of it is utter rubbish but whilst there are hundreds of kids on the waiting lists due to chronic under supply of high quality British schools they know they can get away with it. They even have the audacity to apply the same price rises, using the same justifications, to the bus fees. All the buses are driven by Indians so how can UK teacher salaries have any impact on this?
The expense of Dubai schools has been brought into very sharp perspective for me this year as I have found that it is cheaper to send my eldest child to a top university in the UK, including all her accommodation, tuition fees, books, entertainment - the lot, than it is to send my other kids to the Dubai colleges on a 5 day non-board basis. How ridiculous is that, especially as the university also has to pay the same UK level of salaries to it's teachers that the rip off Dubai colleges are using as justification for their ridiculous fees. If the government want to control inflation they need to not only cap education fees but force a reduction in fees that have been unjustifiably added in recent years.

KHDA
Posted by Syed on Thursday 28 January 2010 at 09:39 UAE time


Expecting an increase in house rent and school fee has become a every year worry, a kind of a trend. Even last year school fee hike is unjustified and had to absorb because parents are left no other option. KHDA should audit every school's accounts to check schools are not making excess profit like some schools are keen in opening worldwide extracting from us. I request KHDA not to keep eyes closed till the fees get sky rocketed and implementing a fee cap which of no use. Due to excess tuition fee families are forced to leave UAE which slows the cash flow in the country hindering the economic revival.

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