UAE announces private school fees hike

The hike comes after a three-year freeze on tuition fees to support UAE parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery period

The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) in UAE has increased tuition fees for private schools for the academic year 2023-24, following the results of the Educational Cost Index (ECI).

UAE private schools in Abu Dhabi increases fee

Schools rated ‘outstanding’ in their Irtiqaa inspections for the academic year 2021/22 have the option to increase their tuition fees with a maximum cap of 3.94 per cent for the new academic year.

Schools with a ‘very good’ rating qualify for a 3.38 per cent tuition fee addition.

Schools with a ‘good’ rating are allowed to apply a 2.81 per cent increase, and schools rated ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’, and ‘very weak’ can implement a maximum tuition fee increase of 2.25 per cent, reflecting the ECI score.

The school must also have been operating for a minimum of three years to be eligible for a standard tuition fee increase, and must follow the approved revised fees structure.

As per the latest Irtiqaa inspection results, 11 schools were ranked ‘outstanding’, 37 ranked ‘very good’, 85 ranked ‘good’, 63 ranked ‘acceptable’, and 1 ranked ‘weak’.

The annual Irtiqaa inspections are aligned with the UAE Unified School Inspection Framework and cover six performance standards: students’ achievement; students’ personal and social development and their innovation skills; teaching and assessment; curriculum; protection, care, guidance, and support of students; and leadership and management.

The hike comes after a three-year freeze on tuition fees to support parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery period.

For the fifth consecutive year, potential private school tuition fee increases have been assessed, calculated based on the emirate’s Educational Cost Index (ECI) in collaboration with the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and individual schools’ ‘Irtiqaa’ inspection scores.

As a result, ADEK has sanctioned tuition fee increases for the next academic year.