Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has mandated that private schools operating in the emirate must exempt students' parents from certain components of school fees, such as equipment, books, school uniforms, etc., for students who wish to use second-hand materials. These include materials that are resold or donated, and that meet the school's current requirements (such as valid editions of books, current uniform colours/designs, etc.).ADEK's ‘Tuition Fees Policy’ stipulates that private schools are obligated to divide their approved school fees into six components: tuition fees, educational resource fees, school uniform fees, transportation fees, extracurricular activity fees, and other fees.The policy also notes that schools may charge separate fees for council examinations, and may also charge related administrative fees for council examinations, clearly stating the reason, such as to cover document processing, invigilation, postage, etc.The school's website must clearly state the separate council examination fees, the grade levels to which they apply, and any additional administrative fees for the examination, while adhering to VAT regulations.Schools must announce their school fees approved by the department and publish them on the website, in addition to payment schedules, and they must be stamped with the department’s seal. They must impose three or more equal instalments for tuition fees, as schools can collect tuition fees in 10 instalments. The school has the right to receive the first instalment of fees one month before the start of the school year.ADEK stressed that it aims to adopt a clear, transparent and accurate approach to regulating fees for both schools and parents, to ensure that fees are reasonable and value-added, reflect the quality of education, accommodate different segments of society, clarify the structure of school fees and the reasons behind fee increases, enable parents to pay them in an appropriate and regular manner, encourage the growth of the school market, and create an encouraging environment for investors.
