WHAT THE SCHOOLS SAY
Private school operators in Dubai have welcomed the decision of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) to freeze fee raise this year in private schools as the right step towards maintaining affordability in education for parents.
Kamal Kalwani, vice-chairperson of Ambassador Schools UAE
“I respect the regulatory authority’s decision to freeze the fee structure this year as this is a right step. I see this as a short-term decision, which will bring relief to parents but at the same time not harm the interests of the school operators. Although teacher wages are rising, the overall cost of running schools is going down owing to the relief in government fees extended by the rulers. Home rents are going down in Dubai and I think more parents from neighbouring emirates are expected to migrate to Dubai an in the end the policies of the government will benefit us. So even though we might take a hit of Dh500,000 in fee freeze, we stand to gain with all the other prices coming down, which is bound to have a positive impact on the operational costs of running schools. This will make education in Dubai more attractive to the community.”
Gavin Walford Wright, chief people, marketing and admissions officer, Taleem Schools
“The Taaleem family of schools are an integral part of their communities and our staff know their students and parents by name. We also tend to know what is happening in their lives and provide support wherever we can. We listened to their feedback and following consultation with our parent body, Board and KHDA we took the decision in November last year to reduce or at least maintain school fees across our schools for the academic year 2020/2021. Moreover, we have often said that the quality of our schools never exceeds the quality of our teachers. Their efforts, inspiration, dedication and professionalism are the qualities that positively separate our schools from others in a crowded and competitive market. The recruitment and retention of the very best professionals is key to Taaleem’s future ambitions and for us to continue to be a leading ‘Employer of Choice’ in the region. To this end, we have announced an industry leading new Taaleem salary scale, providing our faculty with a significant pay rise in academic year 2020/21 and annually thereafter. This recognises and rewards their dedication and is in line with our Values driven approach to our people.”