'Dubai Can Make It Work': Parents React To KHDA's New Affordable Education Plan

When former Dubai resident James H. first moved to the UAE, one of his biggest challenges was finding affordable schooling for his three children.“All three of my kids were in high school and their fees came up to about Dh60,000 per child,” he recalled.

“I was not able to afford that kind of money. So, my wife and I invested in renting out a larger villa and she homeschooled the kids for the three years that we were in Dubai. In fact, the inability to afford quality education was one of the reasons why we decided to move back home to Australia eventually.”

James is one of the many people who found it difficult to afford school fees in Dubai, where prices range widely depending on the curriculum, available facilities and quality of teaching staff among other things. Some of the budget-friendly schools, like the Iranian Salman Farisi Boys school in the emirate, have fees starting from Dh2,673 per year, while the most expensive school in the emirate , GEMS School of Research and Innovation has school fees starting from Dh116,000 per year.

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Recently, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced a new strategy to introduce incentive schemes for socially minded investors and government-backed support to make quality education more affordable and accessible to families.

'Dubai can make it work'

British expat Victoria, who moved to Dubai two years ago, pays Dh150,000 annually for her two children at a top-tier school.“High fees limit our discretionary spending, but we prioritise the facilities and university prospects,” she said.“The school's global recognition is a big factor in staying.”

She said that affordable schools were a great idea, and she trusted Dubai to make it work.“In the UK for example, it is a concept of optimal education for all children, not the best that they can give the child,” she said.

“Given there are non-profit schools like Dubai College, Dubai has already shown the world how affordable schools should operate. I am sure the new plan would bring it more quality education at affordable prices. I also think that good schools in the emirate should start scholarship programmes to bring in more diversity in the student cohort.”

When Indian expat Surya Balakrishnan was in school in Dubai, his parents paid Dh975 per month for his Grade 12 tuition at an Indian-curriculum school. Now an IT professional, he's preparing to pay Dh3,360 a month- over three times as much- for his son's kindergarten at a British-curriculum school in 2026.

“School fees have shot up in recent years,” he said.“We're not wealthy, but both of us earn well and have only one child. Since he has motion sickness, we chose a nearby school to keep him comfortable- even if it costs more.” Surya added that affordable schooling options could make a“meaningful impact” and would be something he'd consider in the future.

Welcome move

GCC national Mariam is a single mother who pays Dh116,000 for her two children- one in primary and another in a secondary for a premium IB school in the emirate. She said, while the move to introduce affordable schools was a“welcome move”, it needed to be regulated diligently.

“Affordable schooling is a much-needed and welcome initiative as I have come across many instances both on social media and among my social circles where parents highlight the difficulty in putting kids through school and consider online schooling as an option,” she said.“I think these affordable schools would have limited facilities and I hope they are monitored well by KHDA to offer quality teaching.”

However, she said that even if more affordable schools are available, she would not consider moving her children there.“I chose this school because I felt it was reasonably priced, and my kids are both happy at their school,” she said.“I think it is most important to invest in good quality training and teaching staff and for that, I am happy to pay a premium.”

Counting each dirham

For some parents, every dirham counts when it comes to education. Pakistani expat Sama Sheikh spends around Dh40,000 a year on her only child's schooling- including fees, transport, uniforms, and extracurriculars. As a single-income family, they stretch resources, using lunchboxes and uniforms until they need replacing.

After the pandemic, she briefly switched to online schooling to save costs.“It was affordable, and the teaching was decent,” she said.“But being an only child, my daughter missed social interaction, so we returned to regular school.”

She welcomed the idea of affordable schools.“School fees take up a large part of our income,” she said.“Seeing that money is deducted every few months is tough. Affordable schools would give us a real breather.”

Similarly, Aaliya Hussain, a mother of four, moved her children from Dubai to a more affordable school in a northern emirate.“Dubai got too expensive,” she said.“We also gave up the school bus and now my husband and I take turns with drop-offs and pick-ups. It's not easy with kids aged 4 to 16, but we save Dh1,200 a month, so it's worth it.”

She added that affordable, quality education in Dubai would be life changing.“We loved living in Dubai, but now my husband drives long distances for work. Accessible education would truly improve our quality of life.”

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