Parents of students in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are upset with some private schools for raising the registration fee for the academic year 2013-2014 without giving any reason.
The parents said the hike in registration fees is more than what is fixed by the education departments of the UAE’s emirates.
Dubai has fixed the raise in registration fee at not more than 10 per cent of total tuition fees.
In Abu Dhabi, the maximum hike allowed is five per cent.
In Sharjah, the increase should not be more than Dh500 regardless of the tuition fee.
Parents are hoping that the proposed new federal law to regulate private schools will be issued soon which will limit the fee for registering their children for the next academic year.
Education department officials in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah said they are receiving many complaints from parents regarding registration fees for in the next academic year.
The officials said they take quick action against those schools if any wrongdoing by them is proven.
The first step is to warn the schools violating the law, after which they can be fined. The fine in Sharjah can be up to Dh10,000.
Mohammed Ahmed bin Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai, said there is a regulation for fixing various kinds of school fees.
According to this regulation, the ceiling on registration fees for new students has been fixed at 30 per cent of total tuition fees and 10 per cent for existing students for the next academic year.
He said KHDA had fined 10 private schools in Dubai since the framework rules began to be applied in April 2012.
Offences included imposing extra charges for optional services and raising tuition fees without approval of the authority.
He added some private schools had refused to refund the fees to parents who had decided to transfer their children to other schools within the state or outside.
He said KHDA had taken strict administrative measures against such private schools.
Federal law
Hamad Al Dhaheri, executive director for private education at the Abu Dhabi Education Council, said private schools are allowed to charge no more than five per cent of the total tuition fees as registration fee.
He added the student’s guardian can file a complaint if the school seeks a larger amount as registration fee.
Al Dhaheri said the proposed federal law on private education would help achieve uniformity in school fees which will reduce complaints from parents.
Hessa Al Khaja, head of private education at Sharjah Educational Zone (SEZ), said the registration fee for the next academic year for schools in the emirate had been fixed at Dh500, regardless of the tuition fee.
She said if any private school seeks a higher amount as registration fee, parents are entitled to file a complaint at the Private Education Department, with documents to substantiate the complaint.
Al Khaja said the school has to resolve the issue within three days of the complaint being brought to their notice.
She pointed out that there is a list of sanctions against offending private schools, ranging from forcing them to refund the increased fee and issuing a warning to imposing a fine of Dh10,000.
Fawzia Hassan, Assistant Undersecretary of the MoE for Private Education, said the ministry has not set any ceiling on registration fee.
She said what is happening is that, because of the rush to register the students for the next academic year, some parents prefer to pay extra to ensure that their children are registered.
She denied receiving any complaints from parents and said the new federal private education law is still in the legislative stage.
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