Saudi Arabia introduces new regulations for private school tuition fees

For years many families have complained about what they say are unreasonably high private school fees in the Kingdom. These complaints may stem from the sudden jumps in prices and the low quality of education that some private schools provide.

Therefore, controls and guidelines have been put in place to determine and define the mechanism for setting these fees in a way that guarantees better options for parents and, on the other hand, fair fees for school owners.

To be able to define the limitations and measures for such fees, a committee will be formed by the Ministry of Education under the direction of the minister to handle all procedures related to reviewing the regulations managing tuition fees for private schools.

The committee will focus on reviewing the level of commitment of private schools to register their tuition fees and any changes that may occur to such fees through the website established by the ministry. It will also review the level of commitment of private schools to notify parents of any change in the tuition fees at least one year before the start of the academic year.

Private schools must also submit an annual report to the minister that includes the changed amount of the tuition fees, justifications for the change, and the committee’s recommendations and proposed solutions.

But what about the mechanism that helps in rationing these tuition fees? The school is basically committed to registering its tuition fees, its effective date, and any change to it through the National Education Portal on the tuition fees program’s electronic link. In all cases, the school determines and registers tuition fees through the dedicated portal one year before the start of the academic year, and any amendment to the fees after that period is not considered, and such submitted tuition fees can not be increased during the academic year.

An important question remains, in the event of any dispute while setting such tuition fees, what will be the specific reference between private schools and the ministry? The reference is a list of school tuition fees published by the ministry on its website. With regard to the committee referred to in these regulations, this main committee will be held in the presence of the majority of its members, and its decisions are issued by the majority of the votes of the members present. If the votes are equal during the session, the side with which the committee chairman voted will prevail.

• Dimah Talal Alsharif is a Saudi legal consultant, head of the health law department at the law firm of Majed Garoub and a member of the International Association of Lawyers. Twitter: @dimah_alsharif