Fee hike in schools only after ministry approval

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has stressed that the Private Schools Licensing Department keeps a strict watch on the tuition and other fees charged by private schools and kindergartens in the country. In a statement, the ministry said: "This diligence on the part of the department prevents private schools and kindergartens from collecting any fee or charge that has not been pre-approved by the ministry, and no kindergarten or school in the country can increase fees without the approval of the ministry. Otherwise this would be treated as a violation."

In its response to the demands of parents to curb the constantly rising fees of private schools, published in 'Arrayah' and 'Gulf Times' earlier this week, the ministry stressed that it is working on creating an environment encouraging and improving education at the private schools on the one side, and on the other side giving just and fair diversified educational opportunities and options for students in a balanced way. This will serve all the parties of the educational process including parents, students and school owners. In particular, the ministry is keen to provide high-quality educational services at the private schools according to the best and highest global standards in this regard. In the meantime, the ministry affirmed that the private schools and kindergartens that want to increase their frees should submit an application with all the necessary justifications and reasons for this supported with the valid documents. Besides, any hike in fees should correspond to improvements in the offered educational or other related services to the students while considering the need for investors to make reasonable profit to help them improve their investment in education and continue it. The ministry stressed that there are a number of standards and conditions that should be applicable and followed by the schools to get approval for any hike in their fees.