Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — As the new academic year is set to begin, many expatriates living in the Kingdom will have to rearrange their budgets to pay for increasing school tuition fees. Expatriates earning a basic salary of between SR4,000-7,000 told Saudi Gazette it will be a difficult year for them but they have no choice but to fork out the price increases for their children's school fees and related expenses. Fouzia Tariq, a Bangladeshi teacher living in Jeddah, said she wanted to transfer her children to an international school for a better educational experience but is unable to do so because of high school fees. “I wanted my older daughter to attend Jeddah International School for her A-levels but they charge SR22,300 per year for year 11. I just cannot afford that.” Fouzia said her four children study at a Bangladeshi school that charges comparatively lower tuition fees. A number of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi families said they prefer to send their children back home to complete their high school studies as they cannot afford expensive fees in the Kingdom anymore. “I can afford to send my daughter to the Pakistani School; it works out to SR2,500-3,000 per year, including tuition, books, stationery, uniform and transportation. But I know if I had another child, I just would not be able to manage,” said Talat Humayun, an electrician living in Taif. In the case of Tariq Khan, who earns SR4,000 per month working as a driver, it is extremely difficult to manage a family of five. “I have to feed my family, pay rent, save money and send some back home. The timing of Eid and the new school year clash and comes at a critical time. My mother, sisters and wife expected gold as Eid gifts, so I spent my savings on that. I am struggling to make ends meet at this point.” Suresh Naeem, an Indian expatriate living in the Kingdom for over 35 years, said his biggest financial concern is paying his children's school fees and the fact that he has to compromise one child's education for another. “I pay more than SR50,000 per year for my son who goes to the British International School. But this way I cannot send my older son for his master's program. It has been a really tough decision. Since my children are both used to such a high caliber of education, I cannot tell my younger son to switch to a less expensive school.” Samiya Butt, a mother of two from Bangladesh, told Saudi Gazette she could not afford to send both her children to international schools in Jeddah so she sent them back to Bangladesh. “My daughters went to Al-Waha International School up until grade 10. After that, we had to reconsider our options. There are no affordable means of university education for expatriate children here. So we all send our children back home for their final board exams because we know they have to join university there. ” Most expatriates working in the Kingdom say they cannot afford higher education for their children due to high tuition fees. Abdulrahman, an engineer in Dhahran, said he used to pay SR70,000 so his daughters could go to an international school. “I will not lie, but my company paid for my children's education and this is why I was able to send them to the best school.” When Abdulrahman's daughters graduated from high school, he could not afford to admit them into a private college. “I sent my daughters to India against their will. They wanted to study in Saudi Arabia but frankly, most expatriates cannot afford to pay such high fees.”
