They asked to link its value to the level of study and the quality of teachers

Students: We bear 80% of the burden of “distance education” .. and schools reap the fees

• Muhammad Ahmed Darwish: “Fees Control Framework Provides Protection for Students’ Families and Private Schools.”

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Parents of students in private schools confirmed that the tuition fees they pay to schools are not commensurate with the amount of benefit achieved by students from virtual education.

And 93% of them reported that 80% of the teaching is now the responsibility of the parents.

Finally, in a survey conducted by "Emirates Today" on its social media platforms, which included 2,200 students, they demanded to reconsider school fees that have greatly burdened families, while not achieving the desired benefit for students through distance education.

They stated that the virtual education system reduced the operating cost of schools, as many of them reduced the number of teachers, or reduced their salaries, and that their consumption of water and electricity decreased significantly, in addition to a decrease in the consumption of oil school buses, as a result of the decrease in the number of operating days.

And they called, in the event of the continuation of the distance education system, to reconsider the tuition fees, and the mechanism for determining them, so that they are associated with the quality of education provided by the schools.

They stressed that some private schools request full school fees, without regard to the financial impact of a number of families who requested them, as a result of the “Corona” pandemic, and in the event that one of the installments is delayed, classes are withheld from the student.

The mother of two primary school students said that some families face the problem of not being able to pay school fees.

She added that private schools did not reduce their fees, despite the reduction in the salaries of their teachers, the termination of services for bus drivers and supervisors, and the low quality of educational services.

The mother of a student stated that the current fees for private schools are "very high", in light of the decline in their financial income, and "it is not reasonable for student fees in the early stages to exceed 20,000 dirhams."

The father of three students in different educational stages considered that “families with more than one student are the most stressful, because the employed father will find himself required to pay tuition fees that exceed two-thirds of his income.”

The father of two children said that the government dealt with the current circumstances with a well-studied strategy, and firm steps, which preceded many developed countries in addressing the (Corona) pandemic.

Its multiple procedures included the educational process, so it took the initiative to suggest appropriate forms of education, so that the levels of students would not decline, so it presented the “distance education” and “hybrid education” models, which are considered the best means under the pandemic, but investors in private schools did not take into account the financial conditions. For students' families, many of them are going through difficult circumstances.

The mother of a student said that “the tuition fees for virtual education students are supposed to be reduced by 50%,” noting that the students’ families pay the fees to the schools, even though they are the ones who take on the real troubles of education.

She explained that "the size of the current tuition fees is not commensurate with the students' benefit, because the explanation of the lessons falls on families, in addition to their incurring additional costs for the Internet and electricity, which increase their suffering."

And she considered that the level of teaching and education declined significantly, as "the role of the teacher is limited to reading from the book, and the student follows it without interaction."

She said that no less than 80% of the teaching became the responsibility of the students' parents.

The father of two students in the early stages of school called for a balance between the school's rights and the educational benefit achieved.

He added, "I support the quality of education in the first place, and that private schools are able to provide a high-level educational staff, but what we see is that some teachers teach students wrongly."

He pointed out the need for the bodies responsible for private schools to ensure the level of language and knowledge teachers before collecting fees from parents, because hiring inefficient teaching staff destroys the entire educational process, "therefore I propose a balance between the presence of highly qualified teaching staff, and a fair financial return."

The mother of a middle school student considered that “there is no comparison between what parents pay and the educational service provided by the school.”

She said that the fees for books and school uniforms constitute another burden on the parents, and an additional source of profit for the school, adding that "some schools, after receiving the value of the books, send a link to the students' families, telling them that the books are (online) only."

The father of a student confirmed that he noticed the absence of many teachers from the classes, and the school administration was satisfied with sending a letter to that effect, without compensating the student with alternative classes.

Also, "the time limit for the class is very short, during which it is difficult to answer the students' inquiries in full."

Also, "some teachers ignore students' questions, especially since they control the tools of the educational program used in distance education, as they can turn off the sound or image of any participant."

For his part, the Executive Director of the Permits and Compliance Sector at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, Mohammed Ahmed Darwish, said that the new school sets its tuition fees in the first year of its operation, based on the financial data that is added to the academic plan approved by the Authority.

These school fees are approved for the first three years since the start of operation, after which the School Fees Adjustment Framework is applied to make any adjustments to their fees.

He added that the framework for controlling school fees provides protection for the interests of students and their families, as they are beneficiaries of educational services provided by private schools. It also provides a favorable climate for investors in the education sector, and helps encourage them to improve the quality of education.

Students with:

“(Corona) has reduced the salaries of teachers, and reduced the cost of operating schools and buses.”

Knowledge:

“New schools set their fees in the first year based on specific data.”

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