Shock as Dubai English Speaking College and School Latest to Raise School Fees - this time by up to an inflation-busting 8%. – Dubai schools, Abu Dhabi schools, Sharjah schools with fees, ratings and more

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Shock as Dubai English Speaking College and School Latest to Raise School Fees – this time by up to an inflation-busting 8%.

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New Sixth Form buildings at Dubai English Speaking College DESC replicate the feel of British universities.

In a shock announcement, Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College, have collectively announced that they are to raise school fees for parents – this again at a time when the for-profit schools and the KHDA continue to protect parents from the impacts of price inflation and fall-out from Covid-19. The announcement has been timed carefully to be released just before the weekend when parents and children are away from school.

In an even more surprising move, the decsion has been made to increase costs between 5.5% and 8% – higher than those announced by Dubai College – the first of the not-for-profits to increase fees.

The decision comes after

The Dubai College decision to increase fees by 5% – full story here, leaving some parents questioning whether they could afford to remain in the UAE.
SchoolsCompared consultation with parents on the impacts of fee rises at a time of spiralling costs for parents – full story here. We have called for published bursary programmes to help vulnerable families and children, but to date this has fallen on deaf ears.
Our sister site launches a strong argument for re-considering the historic belief that not-for-profit schools are either better or cheaper than their for-profit counterparts – full story here.
Jebel Ali School joins Taaleem and becomes proudly for-profit – arguing that it will at least meet the quality of its old not-for-profit status and promising major new investment – full story here.

The decision will leave parents at both Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) and Dubai English Speaking College [DESC] facing steep increases in fees:

Dubai English Speaking School is to increase fees by EIGHT Percent
Dubai English Speaking College is to increase fees by FIVE AND A HALF percent.

The new fee structure can be found below:

Year Group	Full Academic Year Fees AED	Termly Payments AED	Due Date
Foundation Stage	38,305	Term 1 – 13,024 Term 2 – 12,641 Term 3 – 12,640	1st September 2022 2nd January 2023 10th April 2023
FS2 Year 1 – 6	47,406	Term 1 – 16,118 Term 2 – 15,644 Term 3 – 15,644	1st September 2022 2nd January 2023 10th April 2023
Years 7 – 11	73,708	Term 1 – 25,061 Term 2 – 24,324 Term 3 – 24,323	1st September 2022 2nd January 2023 10th April 2023
Sixth Form	79,222	Term 1 – 26,935 Term 2 – 26,144 Term 3 – 26,143	1st September 2022 2nd January 2023 10th April 2023

These fees do not include charges for GCSE and GCE examinations or any external whole child focused examinations including those in music, instrumental examinations or dance. They also do not include supplementary costs for registration, re-registration or various “internal deposits” than can add thousands each year.

The school justifies the increase in fees on the basis that:

DESC reduced its fees by 12% to support families during Covid-19 between 2020 and 2022.
DESS reduced fees by 5% to support families during Covid between 2020 and 2022.
As a result of previous fee freezes and reductions staffing costs had to be “paired back”
As a result of previous freezes and fee increases, capital investment was “suspended.”
“Fee corrections are important if we are to be able to focus on doing our utmost to deliver to the high standards you [parents] have legitimately come to expect.”
That both schools still “represent at least good value for money.”
That, just like families, so too schools are facing the challenges of inflation.
Both schools, even with these inflation busting increases, are still “absorbing a good deal more than we [they] are passing on.”

The schools claim that:

The new fees will still mean that fees are 4.5% lower than they were five years ago.
The new fees will mean that DESS fees have “only” risen 1.2% over the last five years.

Andrew Gibbs, Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College argues that “there is no sugar-coating” the increase in school fees, and accepts that the news will be “unpleasant” for parents at both schools to receive. However, he continues, the decision is the “right one… for both DESS and DESC.”

Both schools have set up an email address through which they have asked that parents communicate with the school on the new increases at [email protected].

The full letter to parents is published below:

DESSC Fees 22-23

Many parents at other not-for-profit schools are now worried that their schools will follow suit given that Dubai College, DESS and DESC have opened the floodgates – we will continue to monitor and report on the situation as it unfolds.

In the interim, we again implore schools to transparently publish Bursary Scheme assistance for parents and students who may well not be able to afford this scale of fee increase – and the implications that flow from this.

This is a fast developing story. We have contacted parents for comment and this will be updated. If you are a family facing hardship, or if you want to comment on the decision to increase fees, please email me at [email protected]. We always protect our sources if you wish to remain anonymous.