Education and School Fees in Dubai

Taking a look at the rising rate of school fees in Dubai and the realities expat parents face when trying to get their child into school in Dubai

There are almost a hundred private international schools that expatriates can choose from in Dubai, and the number of educational establishments available is increasing all the time.  However, that level of choice doesn’t necessarily make the job of choosing a school any easier.

As every expatriate parent knows, finding the right school for a child is a tough job because not only do you have to find one teaching the right curriculum, you need to assess teaching methods and standards, the nurturing environment at the school, the attitude and behaviour of other pupils and even the range of extracurricular activities offered.

When there is such a broad choice, making these comparisons and checks takes time!  In this article we provide a guide to schooling, education and even school fees in Dubai to help those who are thinking about relocating to Dubai and who have children in tow!

The very first thing that we would like to mention is that foreign students – i.e., expatriate children – are not entitled to any free education in Dubai.  Therefore all of the international schools in Dubai charge fees – and this is where the problem begins really, because those fees are generally very high and rising.  The government originally set some relatively half-hearted caps on the rate at which school fees could rise, however these caps have been relaxed and some schools are exploiting registration loopholes to push their fees even higher.

In 2006 there were reports of fees at some institutions having risen by up to 70%, and this year again there have been reports of schools increasing fees by up to 30%.  Fees cover tuition – they rarely cover uniform, transport and other essentials for example.  Therefore, if you’re relocating to Dubai you need to look very closely and seriously at your finances to determine whether you can afford the ongoing education of your child at a quality establishment.

For those lucky enough to have been recruited specifically to relocate to Dubai and work there, companies sometimes include school fees in a remuneration package.  Sometimes this benefit in kind is capped or limited and you will have to find any excess yourself.  If you are not going to receive child tuition fee assistance, can you afford to send your child to school in Dubai?  If you can’t, is it cheaper to send them to boarding school elsewhere?  Think about this now before you move to the emirate and find yourself struggling.

Assuming you are going to send your child to school in Dubai the next issue you have to face is finding the right school.  All have an internet presence, many expat guides have listings of the institutions and if you want to find out a bit more about them before you move, go online to expat forums and find out what you can about the schools you’re interested in.  Remember that not all posts will be objective though! 

Once you have a shortlist of schools you like the sound of, you need to ideally visit the school before enrolling your pupil child therein…however, unless you’re planning your relocation well in advance and can take a short trip to Dubai to check out schools, it is generally the fact that people actually have arrived and are setting up home and then looking for a school.  At which point it can be too late – because all the best schools have waiting lists for places!

Getting a child into school in Dubai is therefore no mean feat, you find a decent school, think you can just about afford it and then find there’s at least a year’s waiting list to get your child enrolled!  The key is trying to plan a relocation up to a year ahead, and if this is not possible then get your child into any decent school, get their name down on your preferred choice of school in the meantime and top up their education with private tuition if needs be.

To enrol a child in school in Dubai you will need to complete an application form and submit it together with copies of yours and your child’s passport, their school records for at least the past 2 years where applicable, and a handful of passport sized pictures of your child – 8 or 10 are usually sufficient.  In addition to these documents you will need to present your child’s birth certificate, immunisation records and relevant medical history and some form of official transfer documentation from the former school that details the level of education to which the child has been taught.  All of this paperwork goes to the school, and then the Ministry of Education also gets a copy of the transfer document and also the last report card for the child.

As you can no doubt tell, finding a school and arranging your child’s education for when you’re living in Dubai is a complicated affair.  But rest assured plenty of people have succeeded before you, so take advice from the forums and from other parents you meet in Dubai and before you know it, your child will probably have settled into expat life better than you!