JEDDAH – The Ministry of Education's approval of a decision to hike fees in private schools at the beginning of the current academic year has led to a 70 percent drop in registrations compared to last year, said sources in the private education sector. They said parents and guardians have not accepted these increases, ranging from 20 to 50 percent, and decided to transfer their children to government schools instead. A number of citizens expressed anger at the decision to increase fees, describing it as unjustified. However, school owners said they had to hike fees due to the increase in teachers' salaries and increased rents of school buildings. Dakheelallah Al-Suraisry, deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's private and international schools committee, said increasing private school fees was justified due to the increase in their running costs. If these increases were not justified, the ministry would not have approved them, he said, adding that through its decision the government department is trying to improve the standard of private education. The increased fees have not been applied to all private schools, but only those that needed to cover their running costs, he said. Al-Suraisry said: “Among the most important reasons for increasing fees is to match the increased salaries of Saudi teachers, cover their medical insurance and the imposition of an annual SR2,400 for each expatriate. “In addition to this, these schools provide curricula that focus on teaching students using sophisticated teaching equipment that is not available to students in government schools.” He stressed the importance of supervision and not allowing schools to increase their fees unjustifiably or disciplining those that do not develop and keep pace with changes in education. Fellow committee member Abdulaziz Hanafi said the decision to hike fees by at least 20 percent came from the Ministry of Education in response to the demands of school owners, who complained about rising rent costs and the decision to increase the salaries of Saudi teachers to SR5,600. They cited the ongoing Saudization drive and the requirement that salaries should be at least SR3,000 as other factors. Some schools have also introduced improvements, said Hanafi. He pointed out that discontent among some parents has become a habit that recurs each year with every increase in school fees because they are not aware of the high costs associated with running these schools. Hanafi said: “We must admit that the standard of private education is better than government education. The private schools focus on modern technology in their curricula as well as better teaching methods compared to government schools. “People involved in this sector have to understand the big role that private education is shouldering and the high costs it is bearing to provide a high-quality education.” Saudi citizen Naeem Al-Kunaidiri expressed disappointment at the decision to hike fees. He said: “There is no justification for increasing school fees. The schools have not changed. The curricula are as they are.”
