Dubai, March 25: Schools looking at hiking up their fees will now have to go through a rigorous screening process and fulfill certain criteria following the new regulation by the ADEC.
According to Brian Fox, division manager for the private school Licensing and Accreditation at Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), the council has started implementing the ‘formalised process’ this year in an effort to regulate the ‘market’.
At present, there are more students in the emirate than the number of seats available at private schools. The demand for places drives some schools to charge exorbitant fees from parents hoping to find a seat for their child.
With the new regulation, which was implemented early this year, the school has to fulfill certain criteria before its request for an increase is accepted by ADEC.
These include presenting audited accounts of the previous academic year, financial template to show information about the school finances, a school improvement plan and a compelling case for the increase.
“They have to show why they want the increase and where they want to spend it on,” Fox told Khaleej Times.
Previously, ADEC granted requests for increase on a case-by-case basis. The fee approvals last year ranged from 0 to 20 per cent, said Fox. The process is being implemented by ADEC in two phases. The first phase covers the schools following the Asian calendar, from April to March.
In February, ADEC sent out a package to the Asian schools with the summary of the new procedure and the increase request form. Schools were asked to file their request by mid March.
“We’re finalising the requests this week (for the Asian schools). If they’ve not submitted their request and want to increase, they have to apply next year,” explained Fox.
The deadline for the second phase, for schools following the September to June academic calendar, to submit their request to ADEC is April 15.
“We’re hoping to finalise all requests before the school starts for the next academic year,” Fox said.
When asked how much ADEC will consider increasing under the new regulation Fox did not disclose an exact amount or percentage rate. “We’re guided by what is reasonable … there’s a variety of consideration such as inflation cost and other things. It’s up to the school to makea case,” he said.
“We will look at what has been previously approved by the old zones,” he added.
“We look at four areas — the tuition fees, bus fees, book fees and uniform fees. No fees can be charged without the approval of ADEC. The approvals can now come only from ADEC headquarters and not from the regional zones,” he stressed firmly.
Fox said that while the market condition remains as it is, where the demand for school placement is more than the available places, ADEC will continue to oversee “until the market works itself out through competition.”
–Agencies–