What’s with the schools?

I received an email yesterday from my sons’ school informing me that they have again hiked the tuition fees by 9% for 2009/2010. This brings the tuition fee for an 11th grader to AED 65,000 ( 17711 US $). Like one of my friends commented “Enough to get you through the first year in university”. So what is happening here?

It is funny to note that  the school does not provide a valid High School Certificate so  students who intend to apply in North America might have a problem doing so. They need to get through IB with a 5,6 or 7 average (tough). It’s also funny to note that Dubai KHDA, the gov body responsible for vetting the schools gave this school an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating but also allowed it to hike the fees by 9%. Kind of strange. Negative rating= Tuition hike !

But why do this school charge so much? It all dawned on me when I was browsing more schools in Dubai that start or have the word “American’ in them. So that is the key. Put the word “American” in the school name and you have the right to charge as much as you want regardless of the level of education you offer.

Take note.

~ by rafickd1 on June 4, 2009.