UAE: Up to 3.94% school fee hike approved in Abu Dhabi

UAE: Up to 3.94% school fee hike approved in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) today revealed the results of the Educational Cost Index (ECI) and announced the approved structure for optional increase of tuition fees for the academic year 2023/24. The announcement follows a three-year pause in tuition fees to support parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery period. The academic year 2023/24 marks the fifth consecutive year that potential private school tuition fee increases have been assessed. This is 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. Consequently, schools that ranked ‘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 in the new academic year, while schools that achieved a rating of ‘very good’ qualify for a 3.38 per cent tuition fee addition. Schools rated as ‘good’ are permitted to apply a 2.81 per cent increase, and schools rating ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’, and ‘very weak’ can implement a maximum tuition fee increase of 2.25 per cent –