Registration fees for children this year at kindergartens in Madina rose to SR4,000 per child in the first semester, and at least SR8,000 for two semesters, while at some kindergartens fees reached SR10,000 per semester and SR18,000 for two. Transportation fees to and from kindergarten ranges between SR1,500 and SR3,000, leading many families to complain that kindergartens had now become unaffordable. A number of parents criticized the spike in kindergartens tuition fees, and said that the fees paid for some kindergartens do not match the level of services provided. One kindergarten director, Noor Ahmed, said that the increases were due to enhanced operating expenses, such as increased salaries for kindergarten staff. One mother, Umm Mohammed, called on the Education Ministry to tighten control over private kindergartens and their owners to avoid fee increases. A spokesman for the Department of Education in the Madinah area, Omar Barnawi, said that kindergartens and private schools vary their charges according to buildings and services, indicating that there are kindergartens and schools that have certain specifications. He added that the Ministry of Education had developed standards to increase fees at private schools, as committees are formed in the region to study the applications and compliance with the standards and then reported to the ministry to approve tuition fees for each kindergarten or school. He said parents have the right to write to the Office of Private Education in the region if there were shortcomings in kindergarten services and the owners would be held accountable and deprived of higher fees if proven to be true.