The parents of students in a private school in Dubai, «Emirates Today», that their children's school has set fees for school uniforms, amounting to 14 thousand dirhams, asking the relevant authorities to tighten control over the fees decided by schools.
The school said that the amount it requested includes the price of the uniform and the sports suit, in addition to the price of the laptop that is delivered to the student.
For its part, the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority confirmed that private schools adhere to the approved school fees published through the website of the authority, noting that the school and guardian contract is the legal framework that guarantees the rights and responsibilities of the two parties in relation to various aspects related to student education.
In detail, Mohab Jamal (the father of a ninth grade student) said: “My son’s data was recorded in school for the first time this year, and when I saw the details of the fees, I was surprised that the service fee that includes the school uniform and the laptop computer is 14,000 dirhams”, adding: “The fees It is high, and I cannot believe that the price of a computer exceeds 7,000 dirhams, while school uniforms are at about the same price. ” He continued: «The fees displayed on the school’s website showed the total tuition fees, without details, as the fees for each grade from the ninth to eleventh amounts to 31 thousand and 782 dirhams. When I visited the school to register, I was surprised that the fees for the ninth grade were 56 thousand and 395 dirhams, and for the tenth grade 56 thousand and 445 dirhams, and for the eleventh grade 55 thousand and 595 dirhams, an increase of about 44% ».
He added, "Although the additional fees are optional, they are necessary, and the student's guardian is obliged to pay for them."
Mina Imad (father of a tenth-grade student) confirmed that he had told the school's registration department that the fees were overrated, and she said that the school decided the fees according to the quality of the services it provided to its students.
He stated that the opportunities for the student to move from one school to another are difficult, especially if the student has spent a number of years of study in it, and forge friendship with his colleagues, and therefore his guardian is forced to accept what the school imposes on him of fees and other procedures.
Dalal Salahuddin (the mother of a student in the eighth grade), the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, demanded to tighten control over the fees decided by private schools, "so that they are not a section of financially draining students' families," stressing that "private schools mean primarily By increasing its profits, it imposes an expensive school uniform. So as not to be a door to financially draining students ’families.”
She added that «the difference in fees between the offer on the school’s website and what its administration determines while registering the student in it is financially confusing, especially if the fees that are added to the amount specified on the school’s website are large, and this is what we faced when registering, the published fees for the eighth grade are 30 thousand and 600 dirhams , While the amount required to be paid is 47 thousand and 70 dirhams.
In a phone call to the school to learn about the school uniform prices in it, the Accounts Department stated that the prescribed amounts include the “laptop” that is delivered to the student, as the price reaches seven thousand and 334 dirhams, out of the total amount that reaches 14 thousand and 758 dirhams, while the grades from the tenth Until the twelfth year, the fees are less because there is no "laptop" with the uniform, especially for the student who is continuing in school, and not the newly transferred to them, because the continuous student benefits from the "laptop" that he received before that.
The «Emirates Today» monitored that the tuition fees published on the school’s website, for the current academic year, ranged between 23 thousand and 450 dirhams for KG1, and 32 thousand and 958 dirhams for the 12th grade, in addition to an optional fee for books and other activities ranging from six thousand and 857 dirhams to KG1, 14 thousand and 808 Dirhams for the 12th grade, and optional fees for other school supplies with value added tax, ranged between one thousand and 857 dirhams for KG1, and 11 thousand and 114 dirhams for the 12th grade. The school fees schedule showed that the fees for books, activities and other school supplies ranged between 25% and 44% of the total fees required to be paid by the student's parent to the school.
For its part, the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority confirmed that private schools adhere to the approved school fees, noting that the school and guardian contract is the legal framework that guarantees the rights and responsibilities of the two parties, and it includes an entire section covering mandatory service fees, as private schools adhere to the fees stipulated in The contract, and the detailed information it contains for fees approved by the authority.
It also includes details of non-educational services and activities, such as books, transportation and school uniforms, which are provided in two ways, the first through the school itself, and in this case subject to the requirements of the authority, and the school is not entitled to impose any increase before obtaining the approval of the authority. The second is in contracting with external agencies that provide these services. In this case, the commission does not interfere in determining its fees, and it is subject to the jurisdiction of other government agencies.
Student's father:
"Uniforms and computer fees are optional, but students' families have to pay them."