It should help the rising cost of school fees in Dubai
There are so many amazing schools in Dubai, however if you’re an expat parent, your kids will most likely attend one of the private schools in Dubai and you’ll know they come at a price.
It was predicted last year that school fees in Dubai would be going up as the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) approved an Education Cost Index of 2.35 per cent for the academic year 2025-2026. The ECI is based on the annual review of financial statements submitted by private schools and reflects the operational costs of running a school such as salaries, support services, rentals expenses and more. A private school in Dubai may apply for fees to increase up to, but not exceeding the approved ECI.
However, many parents have reported the difficulties in the rising fees, and education affordability has been a hot topic on social media and in parent discussions. It was announced during the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Forum 2025 at Dubai World Trade Centre, by Aisha Abdulla Miran, Director General of KHDA, that the KHDA has created a new strategy to deal with it.
Also read: The top 21 schools in Dubai and their fees
“We recently noticed on social media, and many sent me messages, including a foreigner saying that the cost of her children’s education was Dh1 million in Dubai. On this basis, in the education strategy, we focused on providing good education at reasonable prices.”
The director general revealed a multi-step strategy to create more educational options for parents in Dubai, especially options of school fees, while maintaining the emirate’s reputation for academic excellence.
A part of the strategy is groundbreaking policy designed to attract a different type of educational investor to Dubai’s market. The proposed strategy is not just about cutting costs, it’s a holistic approach to educational costs which factors in other parts of the cost of schools including staff accommodation, operational expenses, and infrastructure requirements.
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