gulfnews.com, Saturday 5 Jun 2010

Ministry, KHDA In Talks To Resolve Fee Crisis

Federal authority and Dubai body to make responsibilities clear

Dubai, Anjana Sankar:

The power struggle between the Ministry of Education and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is heating up over the issue of who wields the final say on the approval of fee increases in private schools.

Parents and students of five GEMS school have been caught in the crossfire as the federal authority and the state body, battle it out it in the open — one overruling the other's decision on whether schools should be allowed to raise their fees this year.

While the Minister of Education Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami maintains that these schools deserve to increase fees for their survival, the KHDA is implacable in its stand that fee increases are unjustifiable this year.

According to both governmental bodies, talks are underway to resolve the crisis.

"It will be soon clear who has the power to do what and in which areas," Al Qutami told Gulf News when asked where the jurisdiction of his ministry begins and ends in the context of schools in Dubai.

Responding to the same issue, Mohammad Darwish, chief of the Regulations and Compliance Commission at the KHDA, said they are currently in dialogue with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to come up with the most appropriate way of implementing its decision — "in a way that looks at the needs of all parties involved [the parents and the school owners]."

"[The] KHDA believes the MoE decision is an unbudgeted expense for families and will be difficult to implement as it comes after the current academic year has begun. Discussions with the MoE for the same are currently under way," he said.

Coordinating Functions

On the question of who has supremacy over Dubai schools, Maisa Gadeer, a Federal National Council Member (FNC), said the ministry is only a coordinating body in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"According to article five of the Decree No 30 issued in 2006, under which KHDA is formed, it is the sole authority to license, regulate and control schools in Dubai," said Maisa.

She added that if there is a conflict between both the bodies, the local authority has the final say. Hence, the ministry does not have the power to impose its decisions on the KHDA.

Gulf News has learnt that several thousands of parents have coughed up the new fees in schools like Our Own English High School, Millennium School and Kindergarten Starters.

"What can we do when the school issues a circular stating that they have permission to increase the fees," said Joseph, who refused to give his first name.

"I have my two children going to the Our Own English High School in Dubai and the fifteen per cent increase is a huge burden on our family budget."

Tug-Of-War: Battle For Supremacy

The KHDA announced a fee freeze in March this year denying Asian schools the permission to increase the fees.

The tug of war began when the Ministry of Education exercised its federal authority and gave at least five GEMS schools the go ahead to raise fees up to 15 per cent.

Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, told Gulf News on May 13 that the ministry has considered requests from schools on an individual basis and has approved increases within the federal parameters.

Al Qutami added that the federal rule allowing schools up to a 30 per cent increase applies all over the UAE and Dubai is no exception.

"There is no separate rule for Dubai. We want to support the private sector and encourage investment in the education sector," he added.

When GEMS Schools sent circulars to their parents announcing the new approved fee structure, to be applicable from June onwards, KHDA declared in the media that "no school in Dubai can change its fee structure unless KHDA confirms this to the respective school in writing."

"This is imperative as all schools operate under KHDA's mandate and are issued Educational Services Permits by the authority. Additionally, no fee changes can be implemented once the academic year has already begun," said Mohammad Darwish, chief of the Regulations and Compliance Commission at the KHDA.