They called on the concerned authorities to adjust them in proportion to the cost of the trip
Students: School transportation fees are a “back door” for profit
School transportation fees are financially stressful for many families.
Osama Abu Ghanem's photo
Students' parents called for the need to reconsider school transportation fees.
Photography: Patrick Castillo
picture
Parents of students in private schools confirmed that school transportation fees are exorbitant and burden them financially, pointing out the need to reconsider them and adjust them in proportion to the distance of the school trip, maintenance costs, rent, drivers’ salaries and the school’s profit margin.
They added that the fees approved by their children's schools in return for benefiting from the service exceed 10 thousand dirhams, which is equivalent to the expenses of a full academic year in other schools, noting that "the schools make the school transport service a way to profit."
The mother of two students said that the school transport service fees imposed by the school are exaggerated, amounting to 6000 dirhams per student, adding that “these fees are not commensurate with the journey that the bus takes between school and home.”
She pointed out that she is obliged to participate in the school transport service because her working conditions do not allow her time to transport her two children to school or take them home, noting that “the exaggeration of fees needs to be reviewed by the concerned authorities, to adjust them in proportion to the cost of the school trip, including It includes the maintenance of regular buses, the payment of drivers’ salaries, and the determination of the appropriate profit margin.”
The father of a student in a private school stated that “schools make school bus fees a back door for profit, because there is no clear mechanism for determining service fees, and therefore each school assesses the value of fees in accordance with the desire of its management.”
He pointed out the costs incurred by his son's education, explaining that the fees he pays are divided into 3,000 dirhams for textbooks, 7,000 dirhams for the school bus, and 1,500 dirhams for school uniforms, in addition to school fees of 20,000 dirhams.
A student’s father said: “When I was looking for a school to enroll my daughter, it became clear to me that the school transportation fees ranged between 4000 and 10 thousand, so I chose the schools that have the lowest school fees and school transportation cost, to suit my monthly income.”
He added, "When schools calculate bus fees, they distribute the amount on the actual school days approved by the Ministry of Education by about 185 days, and during the (Corona) pandemic, after education turned into a default, schools had to deduct part of the school bus fees scheduled for the academic year, But we were surprised that these fees are calculated on a full 10 months, including vacations, and therefore the cost of one day is very low, so that the amount that the student’s guardian recovers is small.
The deputy director of a private school, who preferred not to be named, said that the school rents 70 buses from “Emirates Transport” to transport students, noting that “the fees for the transportation service decided by the school for one student start from 5000 dirhams, and these fees were not raised 10 years ago, taking into account for the living conditions of many of the students’ families.
The Ministry of Education confirmed that its Special and Quality Education Department imposes strict control and vigorous follow-up on private school administrations in educational areas, especially on service fees (uniforms, transportation and health services), as they are approved as tuition fees from the educational district, and are not left to the schools’ discretion.
requirements
The Executive Director of the Permits and Compliance Sector at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, Muhammad Ahmed Darwish, stated that non-educational services such as transportation are provided in two ways, the first through the school itself, and in this case it is subject to the requirements of the Authority, and the school is not entitled to impose any increase before obtaining approval Commission.
As for the second method, it is contracting with third parties that provide these services, in which case they are subject to the jurisdiction of the other concerned government agencies.
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