Dubai schools lower fees due to ‘economic pressure’

A number of Dubai schools have lowered their tuition fees for the next academic year starting September, citing economic pressure as one of the reasons.

Horizon International School (HIS) in Dubai reduced its tuition fees by 33 percent to AED65,000 for years 12 and 13. The British school also lowered prices for years 4 and 5 by 7 percent to AED48,335.

Prices for primary level at the school start at AED34,500 for Foundation Stage, and were as high as AED96,000 for upper levels.

Foremarke School Dubai, part of Evolvence Knowledge Investments (EKI), has also revised its fees and reduced them by 10 percent from FS1 to year 6, starting September.

The school will also launch 5 scholarships for students who excel across five categories including academics, performing arts, sports, music and all round performance, which will offer them a 5-10 percent discount on annual school fees.

It will also introduce a partner nursery discount of 15 percent on school fees for students of Dovecote Nursery starting September for the first year only.

Its sister school, Repton, has also lowered fees by an average of 10 percent. Moreover, it halted fees on Junior School for the next academic year.

In line with its 10th anniversary, the school is launching 10 scholarships for students, who will be offered a 10 percent discount on annual school fees. Three scholarships will be across year 5, two across year 6, three across year 7 and two across year 8.

It is unlikely schools’ revenues will be affected, according to the institutions, as the lower prices are expected to attract more students.

UAE residents have complained about high education fees on a number of occasions, with prominent names such as Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar stating private school fees are too high in the region, and threaten to exclude poorer children from the education system.

“I am very close to private educators. They suck the life out of the fees… How can any human being pay like this?” he told Arabian Business in May last year.

A 2016 report by Colliers consultancy showed British schools in the country should reduce their prices in line with a slowing economy.