New school fees system rewards Dubai's top schools

The system integrates both Dubai's economic and social inputs, guarantees educational quality in schools, and creates a balance among all education stakeholders while defining their expected commitments.

There are 144 private schools in Dubai, and approximately 85% of Dubai's schoolchildren are educated in private schools. The new system links a school's performance when it is inspected by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) with the range within which it will be allowed to increase its fees.

Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of DSIB, said:

"The Inspection Bureau is currently carrying out inspections of both private and public schools; to date, 140 schools have been inspected out of 189 schools, and the remaining is expected to be concluded by the third week of April. Moreover, Indian and Pakistani schools, whose academic years run differently from other curricula schools, will be inspected during the academic year 2009-2010."

She added: "DSIB will conclude all the inspections of private schools in Dubai by March 30, excluding 25 private schools that follow the Indian and Pakistani curriculum and six Iranian schools. Furthermore, based on the current inspections, we will report all the results which provide public commentary on school quality in Dubai by May 17, 2009. The report is expected, based on the preliminary inspections, to include the majority of schools within the "acceptable" and "good" categories; due to the decrease in the number of schools classified as unsatisfactory and outstanding. Jameela highlighted that DSIB's focus is the quality of education in private as well as public schools in Dubai, for it increases the awareness among parents and also identifies the necessary development requirements within Dubai's educational environment which has a diverse curricula.

"Our objective at DSIB is to raise educational standards and provide comprehensive information about education in Dubai in addition to formulating the required vision to develop a strong educational policy that satisfies Dubai's Strategic Plan 2015."

There are seven key criteria to assess the performance of private and public schools; these include the overall performance of the school, attainment, students' progress, personal and social development, teaching and learning, curriculum and school leadership. DSIB, being an independent inspection agency within KHDA, aims to encourage self-monitoring systems among schools and achieve the necessary improvements required to enhance educational quality.

Realistic study

According to the most recent research conducted by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in cooperation with one of the internationally recognized research institutions that are based in Dubai, more than 50% of parents from the statistical sample spend between 6 - 15 % of their monthly income on education, while 30% of the statistical sample revealed that they spend more than 15% of their monthly income on educating their children.

The study revealed that the average household spend on education in Dubai is Dhs2,711. Moreover, 25% of parents stated that their children enjoy a good quality of education and that the schools have a good infrastructure. Also, 50% of parents emphasized that the quality of education is the key variable that influences their choice of schools for their children.
The study indicated that the majority of parents expected a tuition increase of 11 % for the academic year 2009 - 2010. Furthermore, 57% believed that if the Knowledge and Human Development Authority does not interfere then schools will continue increasing their tuitions without improving the quality of education.

Comprehensive System

Mohammed Darwish, KHDA's Chief of Licensing and Customer Relations, said that the decision of the board of directors to regulate private school tuition fees is aligned to the decision of the Ministry of Education, indicating that the decision is based on classifying each school according to the quality of education provided by them which is supervised by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau.

Inspectors are putting schools into four categories - un-satisfactory, acceptable, good or outstanding and the results shall determine the allowed tuition adjustment for each school, while taking into consideration the annual operational costs of schools which range between 5 to 7%. The categories will determine brackets as follows:
- Schools within the "Un-satisfactory Category":0%-7%.
- Schools within the "Acceptable Category":0%-9%.
- Schools within the "Good Category":0%-12%
- Schools within the "Outstanding Category":0%-15%. (The percentage of schools

within this category is expected to be small)
He added that private schools following the Indian and Pakistani curriculum, whose academic year begins in April, will follow the Ministerial Decree 1/203 for the year 2008 and the allowed tuition adjustment is 5%-10% for this year only. After that, their fees too will be based on their inspection performance levels assessed by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau.

Darwish added: "As the education authority in Dubai, it is our responsibility to balance the interests of all of our stakeholders. We need to enhance Dubai as a destination and the quality of education is, of course, a factor in that. We also need to protect the stability of those families already living here, both nationals and expats. This involves protecting and controlling the cost of living, while also encouraging investment in education, which is a long-term undertaking and is an investment in Dubai's future."

Measures & Standards

Mohammed Darwish emphasized that the decision puts the foundation for internal systems at schools to develop quality while incorporating the role of parents and focusing on the role of teachers in elevating the level of education at schools.

The regulatory system was built on a solid foundation that takes into consideration the financial status of schools, economic indicators before and during the international financial crises, the inflation factor affecting operational costs of schools, teacher income and the cost of transferring money to their home country, the local and international real estate indicators, average tuition rates at Dubai schools and parent expectations.

He added that the decision takes into consideration the current and future cost of transportation along with the average spend on education. The decision also protects the interests of all stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, school owners, administrators, and local and federal government entities. Furthermore, it will provide parents with value for the money invested in their children's education and achieve full transparency, which will encourage schools to develop their operations on all levels.

He concluded: "The system will be evaluated by the end of the upcoming academic year and shall be fine tuned to serve stakeholders better. It is a positive step towards granting schools the opportunity to make their own decisions."