“Classification of schools will be of great help to parents to choose the type of school they want to send their children to,” spokesman of the ministry Muhammad Al-Dokhaini told Arab News.

The official also believed that the classification would compel all schools to improve their teaching and other services to attract parents.

Al-Dokhaini stressed the role of private schools in imparting quality education in the Kingdom.

“Private schools are models that are expected to offer excellent education,” he said.

However, the official said the ministry did not have the authority to force private schools to reduce tuition fees.

“The rules do not give the Education Ministry any power to interfere in the fees structure of private schools except in the timing of hiking fees. Clause 12 of the education regulations clearly states that schools should fix the cost of school expenses three months before the beginning of the academic year and should not hike fees in the middle of the academic year,” he said.

He added that the ministry is the authority to issue licenses and monitor the performance of schools on the basis of relevant rules and regulations.

He said fee hikes have been reported from schools that revised the minimum salary of their staff in line with a royal decree.

He added that private schools are part of the private sector, which is governed by specific regulations monitoring the pricing of services.

However, hiking fees should not be used to increase income because students who cannot afford the hike will quit the school and many seats will remain vacant,” he said.

The ministry hopes that a school will fix its tuition fees commensurate with the value of its services and the cost of running the establishment, he said.

Preliminary studies made by the ministry in private schools in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam revealed that some schools did not change their fee structure while others raised their fees at an average of 25 percent, he said.