Ministry urged to probe unlawful fees increase by private schools

A parliamentarian has urged the Ministry of Education to carry out a probe into allegations of unlawful fee rise by some of the private schools. According to MP Mohamed Buhamood, many private schools in the Kingdom are overburdening the parents by exorbitantly charging the students.

“The fees at some private schools have increased so much over the years that parents are not able to afford it anymore,” he said. The lawmaker said that he has received a legion of complaints from parents, who claimed that schools that their children attend have increased fees by a huge margin.

“Many parents now struggle to send their children to schools owing to this unlawful fee hike.” He said that some of the schools even disregard the law, which states that the schools can only raise the fees by five percent once in every three years. Urging the Ministry of Education to carry out a probe into the allegations, he said: “The reasons for such increases must be investigated. Are there steps taken by the ministry against schools that make such increases?”

“I have received many complaints that schools have been increasing fees by more than 5pc.” Last year, a planned fee hike at some of the private schools was halted after a royal order was issued against it. Following the order, the ministry issued a circular to schools directing to terminate the planned increase.

Private school management in the Kingdom, which wish to modify the fee structure is required to provide a clear explanation to the ministry, according to law. Moreover, according to existing laws, private schools are only allowed to increase the fees if they are ‘high performing’. The criteria, which came into effect last year states that only schools rated “good” or “excellent” can increase fees and the increase in fee should not be more than 5pc.