Private schools in Dubai will not increase tuition fees next year, KHDA says

Private schools in Dubai cannot increase tuition fees for the 2021-2022 academic year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has ruled.

KHDA, Dubai’s private education regulator, based its decision on the annual Education Cost Index (ECI) calculated by the Dubai Statistics Centre. The ECI measures 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.

.@KHDA announces that private schools in Dubai will not be increasing tuition fees for the 2021-22 academic year. This is the second consecutive year that fees for Dubai schools have remained steady.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 15, 2021

The Education Cost Index and the Fee Framework were developed in 2012 in collaboration with the Dubai Statistics Centre, Department of Economic Development and Dubai Chamber of Commerce, among others.

The announcement follows the release of the annual Education Cost Index (ECI) calculated by the Dubai Statistics Centre, which measures 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.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 15, 2021

“This announcement shows Dubai’s commitment to ensuring that the private school sector continues to deliver value to parents, investors and school operators,” said Mohammed Darwish, CEO of the Regulations and Permits Commission at KHDA.

Read: Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education: Fighting the good fight

KHDA conducts annual school inspection reports, the result of which allows schools to raise their fees using the ECI as a benchmark. This will be the second year in a row that fees for Dubai schools will remain stagnant.