Schools in Dubai introduce discount packages to stay ahead

Private schools in Dubai are desperately trying to stay ahead of the competition by introducing various discount options for parents.

This academic year, 13 new schools opened in Dubai alone, and 11 were launched last year. Dubai is set to nearly double the number of private schools in the next 10 years and 120 new schools will open by 2027.

To stay afloat in such a competitive landscape, many schools have implemented sibling discounts, founders discounts, corporate discounts, refer-a-friend discounts and tuition fee discounts. According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, 43 Dubai schools applied for approval to implement sibling discounts this academic year. There are 194 private schools in the emirate.

“Some UAE schools are facing a relatively tough time as expected targets may not have been achieved. Some parents are also tight-fisted and school managements have understood this and have tried to attract pupils with attractive fees and terms. The attractions range from sibling discounts to outright fee reductions,” Atik Munshi, a senior partner at Crowe, a public accounting firm, told Khaleej Times.

“New schools are offering founders schemes which allows pupils to benefit with lower fees for a number of years. A change of school is not easy for both the children and parents. Aspects like vicinity of school, syllabus, the child’s affinity for class friends and transportation costs have to be considered before a decision on changing a school is made.”

He said parents often tend to continue with the same school even if the fees are higher. School managements are also keen on adding more children as lower numbers could impact revenues.

Types of discounts

Some schools that offer sibling discounts include the Formarke School, Repton School, Emirates International School, Hartland School, a number of GEMS schools, American School of Creative Science, New World Private School, Bradenton Preparatory Academy, Dubai Arabian American Private School, Uptown School and Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, according to data from the KHDA.

Sibling discounts could mean 10 per cent less on the tuition fees for each sibling. A number of schools have also implemented corporate discounts. Kings Nad Al Sheba has partnered with the Aviation Pilots Club, Emirates and Standard Chartered and offer students whose parents work at these companies a discount. The American School of Creative Science offers discounts to children whose parents work for the Dubai Police.

Competitive landscape

Mark Roelofsen, co-founder of the International and Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF), said that schools can focus on a niche or specialties in order to survive in the increasingly competitive landscape.

“For instance, Fairgreen International School and Arbor School are both opening in Dubai as fully sustainable schools. Some are now getting more focused on how they communicate their offerings, such as ‘great value for money schools’.”

“There are also schools that are appealing to wealthier, brand-conscious families by highlighting their heritage or extensive learning facilities. We have an expert coming over at IPSEF Dubai later this month to talk about how schools can market themselves by correctly identifying their USPs,” Roelofsen said.

For schools to continue surviving in this market, they need to consider many factors. “In the natural scheme of things, the poorer performing schools will be left behind. Such schools can be identified through the annual KHDA inspections. Increased competition should compel schools to work towards improving or maintaining standards. The caveat is, fee increases are historically tied to inspection results, where schools in need of improvement have found it challenging to make progress without the necessary funding for better quality teachers, professional development or resources,” he said.

“Last year, changes were introduced to address this, allowing good and outstanding schools to opt out of annual inspections by mentoring a weaker school. This initiative has so far been well received and initial signs are that the programme is helping schools that were previously trapped in a cycle of underperformance and, as a result, poor resourcing.”