2023/24 Abu Dhabi Schools Tuition Fee Changes: What Parents Need to Know

The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has shared the results of the Educational Cost Index (ECI) and announced the new structure for possible tuition fee increases for the 2023/24 academic year. This comes after a three-year break in tuition fees to help parents during the pandemic and recovery period.

This is the fifth year in a row that potential private school fee increases have been evaluated. The ECI is calculated in partnership with the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and individual schools’ Irtiqaa inspection scores. Based on these factors, ADEK has approved tuition fee increases for the next academic year.

Schools that received an “outstanding” rating in their Irtiqaa inspections for 2021/22 can choose to increase their fees by up to 3.94% in the new academic year. Schools with a “very good” rating can increase fees by 3.38%, while those with a “good” rating can increase fees by 2.81%. Schools with “acceptable,” “weak,” and “very weak” ratings can increase fees by a maximum of 2.25%, which reflects the ECI score.

To qualify for a standard fee increase, a school must have been operating for at least three years and must follow the approved revised fee structure. The latest Irtiqaa inspection results show 11 schools ranked as “outstanding,” 37 as “very good,” 85 as “good,” 63 as “acceptable,” and 1 as “weak.”

Irtiqaa inspections follow the UAE Unified School Inspection Framework and assess six performance standards: students’ achievement, students’ personal and social development and innovation skills, teaching and assessment, curriculum, student protection and support, and leadership and management. Each standard includes 17 performance indicators to evaluate each school’s academic and administrative effectiveness.