Doha: The Supreme Education Council (SEC) has approved fee increases in 10 schools for the academic year 2013-14.
Fifty-four schools filed applications to increase fees, of which the SEC has approved 10 applications, an Arabic daily reported yesterday.
Among the schools and pre-schools that will see an increase in fee starting September would be Al Maha Academy for Girls.
An SEC official, who did not want to be identified, said that the council has many conditions that need to be fulfilled before it approves any fee hike.
As per these conditions, schools can only increase fees after three years, which can not be more than 10 percent.
The council, however, can approve fee increase requests if a school goes through development project or introduces new curriculum and enhances teaching methodology.
Schools that plan to hire professional teachers that demand higher salary packages can also have their fee hike applications approved by SEC.
The official said that any increase in fee structure without the SEC’s approval is considered invalid and illegal.
The SEC committee that deals with the issue has also said that it always welcomes complaints concerning increase in fees.
Some parents criticised the hike on social networking sites and slammed SEC, saying this happens every year without there being any significant improvement in the quality of education.
The father of a child studying at Al Maha said he had received a message from the school, informing him about the 10 percent hike in fees.
He said that it was not reasonable to increase fees every year as there was no real change in the teaching methodology.
“What do they think of us, asking us to pay so much money? It seems as if the school wants to raise fees up to QR100,000,” he added.
Another parent said that some schools not only increase fees but also prices of other items such as uniform and books.
“This happens every year and nobody seems to be concerned about the burden on us parents,” said another parent.
The Peninsula
