Emirati schools increase school bus fees by 35%

Ahmed Moawad 1 week ago

Students' families protested that private schools in Sharjah raised school transportation prices for the coming academic year, claiming that the increases were 35% higher than before.

They requested assistance to prevent fee increases for other services, citing concern about the high fees for books and school uniforms before the start of the new academic year.

circulars sent by private schools regarding new bus fees beginning with the upcoming academic year, which saw a significant increase compared to previous years.

Furthermore, the schools decided to outsource transport from other emirates to private companies, which parents saw as 'a circumvention by them to increase fees, after obtaining acceptable or poor ratings, and not obtaining approval from the Sharjah Private Education Authority to increase tuition fees'.

In particular, a parent, Muhammad Wajih, stated that his children's school issued a circular to the kids' families, including the new tuition, stating that the increase in Sharjah was 600 dirhams per child.

Increase tuition fees in the UAE

He requested that the Sharjah Private Education Authority intervene "to stop the continuous increases in fees, which are collected by side means, whether through school transportation, uniforms or book prices."

He stated that schools with acceptable and poor scores in the "Itqan" programme evaluation had began to raise transportation expenses despite this.

Marwa Tariq, a guardian, stated that her children's school decided to hike transportation costs for the upcoming academic year by 1,500 dirhams, or nearly 35%, since "the new increase is exaggerated and illogical."

She stated that she has opted to forego using the bus next school year and instead drive her children to school in the family automobile.

Abdulaziz Youssef stated that he lives in Ajman and that his children ride the school bus to Sharjah. Those raises.