Rising education fees scare off prospective students

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The DCCI said that the numbers of Dubai residents aged 10 to 19 in the country was 'unusually low'.

The explanation, it said, was that soaring school fees had forced expats to send children home for schooling.

The report found that secondary school fees had jumped by 25.2% in 2008, while primary schools rose by 18.7%. The study estimated that fees now range from Dhs3,000 up to Dhs58,000.

Not for the first time, it seems that Dubai is struggling to control a market where supply and demand fluctuate wildly - and companies are all too ready to capitalise.

There is clearly a huge demand for school places, hence the high fees, but the long-term relationship between affordable schooling and a sustainable expatriate workforce is obvious. It is clear that the Federal government has realised the challenge, allotting education 23% of its most recent budget, but for Dubai it is the private sector that holds the key.

Inflationary pressures

The education sector is obviously suffering from the same inflationary pressures as other industries and the short-term impact of construction delays is having a big impact. There may be over 200 public and private schools in Dubai, but established names such as the American School of Dubai, Cambridge High School and the Dubai American Academy command the highest fees and the longest waiting lists.

Some of the region's biggest players, such as Emaar, are now targeting the city's burgeoning demand for learning. As ever, the key challenge will be finding a sustainable system to suit Dubai's heterogeneous needs.

Although getting the school system right is an appropriate priority, it would be a mistake to overlook the substantial activity in further education. While the Arab world might have failed to have an institution within the top 400 in the recent HES-QS World University Rankings for 2008, it seems that its free-zone policy has caught the imagination of international organisations.

Education gateway

While Dubai Knowledge Village has focused on bringing in a high number of partners, it appears that the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is starting to receive a lot of interest as a gateway to the region's education sector.

Sprawling across a 25 million square foot area, the DIAC campus has already attracted more than 30 international universities through its doors. The spirit of learning is surely a key driving force, but foreign firms will also be attracted by the benefits of 100% foreign ownership, 100% tax free earning and the 100% repatriation of profits.

Nevertheless, DIAC has succeeded in keeping its standards high and boasts partnerships with international names such as Herriot Watt, Manchester Business School and Michigan State University. According to DIAC, it rejected more than 90% of applications for operating licences in 2007, setting itself a strict quality control policy that should help stem the exodus of potential students.