Fee hike by pvt schools draws flak from MPs

Manama : In the wake of the sudden increase of school fees by some private schools recently, a number of MPs demanded that the schools follow certain regulations before such hike is introduced.

Some schools in the Kingdom have demanded from the parents to pay additional fees for enrolling their children at the schools. Irked by the fee hike, five MPs presented a proposal to amend some of the provisions of the law decree 25 of 1998, in relation to private educational and vocational institutions.

The proposal obliges private academic and training establishments to obtain Education Ministry’s approval, ahead of amending any of its fees. 

MP Mohammed Al Ammadi said that the new amendment also instructs the institutions not to apply the additional fees on the enrolled students at the time of the increment.

The council’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee Chairman MP Ali Al Ateesh demanded that the fee hike should only be imposed on newly registered students and not the existing ones.

According to the lawmakers, the proposal comes as a response to the sudden increase of educational fees at some private educational and vocational establishments in the country.

“This leaves parents shocked, as they were not informed previously about the increase. It negatively impacts their financial and economic situations, as parents weren’t granted sufficient time to set a new financial plan ahead of the school year,” the MPs expressed. “The pupils are enrolled in the schools as per a contract between parents and schools. These contracts should be respected. Schools should inform parents about the cost of their children’s education in all grades and not surprise them some years later. The proposal comes to protect students’ rights. Education isn’t a cheap commodity that is affected by the fluctuations of the market,” they added.