Dubai schools cost more than UK universities

anonymous Tuesday, 22 January 2013 4:50 PM - uae

Yes, it's a shame that we as parents have to really struggle so hard to give good education to our children in Dubai.So, please KHDA and the Dubai government should see that education is made affordable and the fees structure realistic .It's indeed disturbing that such ridiculous amount is charged for pre-primary and primary education.It's an appeal and request to please control the fee hike.

Sickof Ripoff Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3:57 PM - UAE

I think if we are to look at the cost of schooling in Dubai then a perfect example should be that of a NON profit private School that achieves excellence. JESS is an example for the government to grade other schools, for Nursery the fee is AED 30,000 annual and the Year 1 is AED 38,000 annual. Compare that to Repton lower in the table of achievments at AED 47,000 for Nursery, not forgetting AED 1,000 just to see the child for 20 minutes.
COME ON UAE Municipality... Sort this out! The schools already profit a fortune from waiting lists 2,000 people long at AED 500 each and we have to try with atleast 5 schools. If Dubai is to be the city of NOW... do something NOW!
Regards
Scrouge x

Rak Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3:32 PM - Dubai

More importantly is that the level of education in Dubai is way below average, as you can read from the report but also I have first hand experience of this. Children educated here even in repton of mess are struggling to get into half decent private schools in the uk, khda needs to seriously look into this before approving anymore fees rises...especially that repton has applied for another rise this year!!!

Anamika Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3:18 PM - uae

Let us look at the real cost as they say teachers . some schools still pay teachers less than global market standards . Therefore the teachers we have here are not even comparable to the teachers in UK or India . Why is there always ads for teachers put out by all the school . The jobs pays with short timings , holidays but is that fulfilling here . No since the profits are eaten by schools to build their infrastructure . their capitalist dreams How can a parent afford a fee of 55k plus tuitions in grade 11 , 12, . SAT university entrance charges with a salary of 35k - 40k . This calculation is not good , it shows that our children will not stay here , eventually they will go away and never return . The global standards of education does not mean looting parents who are expats . open your eyes govt of dubai see who is looting you .

S.E. Tuesday, 22 January 2013 2:58 PM - UAE

The KHDA and government should really look at the education sector as a whole. If this is meant to be a for-profit sector, then there should be some benchmarks set for them. X per cent of your school graduates should be able to get admission in to prestigious international higher education institutes as a matter of course and not exception.
I am sure the next 'line of reasoning' by the schools is going to be teacher salaries. I challenge these so called Groups to publish the salaries paid to teachers, especially in the last four years when fees have become unreasonably high. I am sure you will not find an increment above 4 - 6 per cent cumulatively, if at all. So what justifies the higher costs?

More seriously Tuesday, 22 January 2013 1:46 PM - UAE

UK University education is highly subsidized by the British government.

Private Schools in Dubai, England and anywhere else are not!

If you want to help consumers then compare the cost of apples with apples I.e private education in the UK versus Dubai!

Matt Thursday, 24 January 2013 2:48 PM - United Kingdom

I bet 45.000DHS would get you a lot more education and a far, far better school in England than you would in Dubai. As a previous poster stated, Dubai is not a place where you should raise children...

Alma Garner Tuesday, 22 January 2013 4:51 PM - UK

That's true. I pay �7,800/year for my 5 year-old to attend a private international school here in the UK. That's equivalent to around Dhs45,000/year. However the private British schools are cheaper actually. I thought ours was pricey because it's an international school and follows the IB Curriculum.

The Consultant Tuesday, 22 January 2013 2:59 PM - UAE

You are a bit out of date - Government subsidies for UK students now only cover a small part of the tuition fee. Overseas student fees are not subsidised (arguably they are subsidising domestic students) and the fees for them for standard courses at most universities are not all that different from the cost of senior schooling at a British curriculum school in Dubai.

Variations Tuesday, 22 January 2013 1:14 PM - UAE

I have been discussing this topic with my colleagues at work recently and very weird that this article came out as well.:)
The school fee and schools here are an absolute joke.

Recently a school in Al Qusais, (also owned by GEMS group) was shutting down because they are not making any money... WHATTT???:?this is outrageous...and the Govt. officials should take a note of it. This particular school also requested parents to sign a petition to ask Govt. to let them raise the fee and that parents agree to pay higher fee... I nearly fell of the chair when I heard this.. !!
Schooling, Healthcare should be a service to the residents of a country NOT a business.... PERIOD!! Charge me Tax, I don't mind paying tax.. but don't ripp me off!!!

I would rather spend 50K for my child to go to Harvard/Yale/Oxford.. then spend at a local school here.

Wissam Tuesday, 22 January 2013 1:00 PM - Germany

It's shocking to hear such numbers for education...especially since I went to a private school in Dubai myself and then to AUS in Sharjah for my BSBA. My father now pays double for my step-sister's 4th grade versus my 12th final grade in the same school. Sounds ridiculous and pitiful. Luckily for me, I now live in Germany and have to start thinking about placing my daughter in Kindergarten in 2 years from now, yet I do not have to go crazy about the costs, and this goes throughout the schooling phase as well. Dubai Government should start to play some positive role and understand that education and medicine should not be their main business after its' real-estate image went below ground. Less and less people of my age, 30, with a young family, are willing to go to work and live in Dubai, even if the income is twice as much as wherever they are based in at this point of time... What once was my home is becoming a greedy fake city...well, not becoming, already is!

Abdulla Tuesday, 22 January 2013 11:36 AM - Bahrain

You should check out US private schools.. they're just as expensive if not more. UK universities are generally cheaper than US private universities. I believe paying between AED70,000 to AED100,000 should be the norm at some point.. Hong Kong schools are also on that level too.

Michael Tuesday, 22 January 2013 10:55 AM - UAE

A spokesman for GEMS Education, the for-profit company that runs the school, said fees usually covered more tuition time per week than a university course, as well as other curricular activities.Some employers also paid school fees or offered bonuses within employees? salary packages, which were not available for university fees.

Er..what was that exactly, Mr. spokesman: What do you mean by more tuition time? Can you give us precise figures here? Have you taken into account that universities have professors with doctorates compared to nursery teachers, so therefore a professor's tuition time should be more expensive than your school?

Also your argument that school fees don't matter because they are paid by employers is such a scandalous argument to justify high fees. So what you're saying in essence is that it is ok to rip off parents, since actually the employer is being ripped off! Pathetic arguments..

leo50 Tuesday, 22 January 2013 1:46 PM - UAE

with a response such as that of the spokesman, it is to be hoped that he did not receive an education from a Gems school, as that would prove that not only is it a rip-off fees-wise, but also imparts a singular lack of common sense. Not at all surprising!