Schools raise fees by 10-15%

Families feel the pinch as schools raise fees by 10-15%
By Peter Townson - sourse Gulf Times

AS the cost of living in Qatar continues to increase, another area of family life has recently become more expensive, with school fees throughout the country’s private schools rising by between 10 and 15%.
With inflation and other costs increasing, it is clear to see why the schools have raised their fees, but the impact of the upsurge in prices on families is all too tangible.
Most schools have increased their fees by around 10-15% and although some of the schools were not willing to give an explanation as to the reason of this hike, they will all be suffering from the same issues meaning they have to increase their fees.
Deputy headmaster at English Modern School, Jean-Claude Chalouhi explained that his school had increased their fees by 10% this year, and claimed that there were a number of reasons behind this raise.
“The major problem we have is housing,” he said, adding that “we used to be able to find a flat for our staff for around QR2,000, but now we are lucky if we can find one for QR8,000 or 9,000.”
“Another reason for the rise in fees is the currency exchange rate. As most of our teachers are expatriates we now need to pay more to match the salary they were receiving before in their home countries,” he added.
Doha English Speaking School has raised its fees by 15% this year, according to a representative from the school. She explained that in a letter to parents of students, the school management had explained that the rise was to “enable the school to provide the quality of education to match expectations in the light of increased costs.”
The American School of Doha, which has recently conducted a number of major projects to improve facilities and expand the institution has also seen an increase in fees. Although school officials did not wish to comment on the raise, the school website shows fees for students in grades 6-12 as now costing QR52,767 per year.
Qatar International School has also raised its fees by 15% due to increases in operational costs. The yearly cost for a pupil in years 1-6 is QR 22,680, with the annual fees for a student in years 12-13 currently at QR 35,280.
“We have increased our fees by 13% this year because of housing and other costs,” explained a representative of the school, who added “but this figure is below the rate of inflation in Qatar, and our fees are still relatively low.”
Doha College headmaster Mark Leppard, told a similar story, explaining that the 15% increase in fees this year is “not something we want to do, but a necessity if we wish to maintain our standards.”
“With inflation, everything has become more expensive, and all our supplies are costing a lot more – the increase is to cover what we need,” he added.
It seems that parents and fee-payers are now all too aware of inflation and its consequences. “Global inflation has an obvious knock-on effect, and as living costs have continued to spiral it had to be expected that school fees would increase as well,” said one parent.
“We have no choice. Education is so important and we want our children to have the best schooling available, so we simply have to pay,” lamented another parent.
Many expatriates have their children’s school fees paid for them by their companies, and are generally unaware and unaffected by increases. However, one parent whose company pays for her children to attend school here said that if this was not the case, and she had to pay the fees herself, she would “definitely not be here anymore.”
Although inflation has reached around 17% this week, a 15% rise in school fees still represents a significant increase, and many parents who want their children to go through the British curriculum are now feeling the pinch.
But how do the fees in Qatar compare to private schools in the UK, who offer the same curriculum? Of course there is a broad spectrum of school fees, but the mid-range independent day schools charge an average of £10,239, which is around QR66,713.
Indeed the price of private schooling in the UK has also risen considerably, and according to a recent survey, the cost of sending a child to private school in England has risen by 43% since 2003.
However, the significant difference is that English families have a chance to enrol their children in the state sector – an opportunity that does not exist for English-speaking students in Qatar, whose parents simply have to pay the newly hiked fees to get a British or international education.