At least four non-profit schools in Dubai will increase fees by between 5 per cent and 8 per cent in the new academic year, starting at the end of August.
Non-profit schools in the city are allowed to increase fees after seeking approvals, although for-profit schools have had fees frozen for three years.
Only a handful of schools in the country are not-for-profit, meaning that they are governed by an independent board and reinvest any profits they earn into the school.
Reducing disparity between primary and secondary
Fees at Dubai English Speaking School, one of the city's oldest schools, will be increased by 8 per cent, while tuition will go up by 5.5 per cent at Dubai English Speaking College.
For the 2022-23 academic year, fees at DESS will range from Dh38,305 in the foundation stage to Dh47,406 in years one to six. Those at DESC will range from Dh73,708 in years seven to 11 to Dh79,222 in the sixth form.
Dubai College has increased fees for years seven to 11 from Dh27,494 per term in 2021 to Dh28,869 per term in the new academic year starting in August.
Fees for years 12 and 13 have been increased from Dh31,333 every term in 2021 to Dh32,690 per term in the 2022-23 academic year. There are three terms in a school year.
In August, Jumeirah English Speaking School will raise its primary school fees by 5 per cent but fees at the secondary school will not be changed.
In a letter seen by The National, the school informed parents that “the rationale behind this fee increase is to ensure a financial model that enables JESS to keep developing and improving to deliver the standard of education expected from a leading not-for-profit school”.
The school said it also aimed to reduce the disparity between fees in the primary and secondary sections.
“Alongside increased operating costs since our fees were last visited in 2019 and the challenges of Covid, we have also made significant investments in staffing this year and the next, including increasing the number of social and emotional counsellors and increasing the number of learning support assistants in the primary schools,” it said.
Fees at the school started at Dh39,837 for Foundation 1 grade.
For-profit school fees still frozen
Dubai's private schools regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, put a freeze on tuition fees at for-profit schools in the city for three consecutive years, up to and including 2022-23.
In March, the KHDA announced fees at for-profit private schools in Dubai would not be increased for the coming academic year to reduce the financial burden on parents.
Fee increases proposed by non-profit schools are approved by the KHDA after the school board signs them off and evidence of parent endorsements is submitted.
Fiona McKenzie, head of Carfax Education UAE, said not-for-profit schools have more autonomy in setting their fees than their for-profit counterparts.
“Non-profit schools are set up quite differently from for-profit schools — they're much older, they were quite often set up by kind of a royal charter and maybe had been gifted the land (the school was built on),” said Ms McKenzie.
“They were given kind of an assurance of independence when they were set up. So therefore, they don't fall under the kind of fee restrictions that the for-profit schools do.
“Not-for-profit schools can increase their fees when they feel that they need to, whereas the for-profit schools come under KHDA regulations.”
Not-for-profit schools function under a different business model. While for-profit schools have the option to take some of profits as a return on their investment, with not-for-profits the money all has to go back into the school.
“And that means they pay the teachers slightly better, all the accommodation allowances are better, which is great, because it means you attract really good quality staff,” said Ms McKenzie.
She said some schools invested in facilities, or in teaching and learning, and had autonomy to do that.
Ms McKenzie said all schools reinvest money, it just depends how much.
“For a good school to be competitive in the market, it's got to have good teaching staff, it's got to have good facilities, it's got to be a good school. And that doesn't happen if you don't reinvest that kind of money into the school,” she said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
SPECS
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
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Power: 450hp
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
5pm: Rated Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Abubakar Daud
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Tair, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner: Son Of Normandy, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More on animal trafficking
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
