Ministry turns down more than 80% of requests by private schools to increase fees

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education rejected a mammoth 81.25% of applications by private schools and kindergartens to increase their tuition fees in the country this year, reported The Peninsula.

This year, the ministry received requests from 144 schools and kindergartens to increase their fees. Out of this, 29 were rejected for not submitting required paperwork or were less than three years of operation, reported the newspaper.

The department reviewed the remaining 115 applications and accepted only 27 requests, rejecting outright the remaining 88 applications, according to Private Schools’ Licensing Cepartment Director Hamad Al Ghali.

The increase in fees ranged from 2% to 20%. Only four kindergartens were granted permission to hike their fees by 15% or more, while the rest of them could increase the fees by 10% or less.

While he said there was currently no ceiling on tuition fees, there was a plan to establish it once schools have been divided into different categories.

Meanwhile, the ministry said it was committed to transparency regarding private schools’ tuition fees and the parents’ rights to know the amount required before enrolling their children, reported Gulf Times.

Tarek Al Abdullah, the adviser to HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education for Private Schools Affairs, said that all schools must announce their tuition fees for the 2018-19 academic year before the beginning of registration on March 1.

The schools must also inform parents of the fee so they can decide whether to enrol their children in the same school or move to a different one. He stressed that the goal of updating the procedures was to help parents boost the educational process.