A number of small private schools are likely to be closed down following a recent decision taken by the Ministry of Education to increase salaries of Saudi teachers.
The ministry has allowed these schools to hike tuition fees from the coming academic year (2013-14) to offset their budgets, but the move would antagonize parents.
Private schools cited financial woes as the main reason behind the request to raise fees, especially in the aftermath of the ministry’s decision to implement a minimum monthly wage of SR 5,000 for Saudi teachers.
Well-known Saudi private schools currently charge up to SR30,000 tuition fees per child. But small schools said the SR2,400 expat fee imposed for the employment of foreign teachers was affecting their annual budget.
Mazen Al-Suwailem, a parent, said the primary school where his son studies had raised the fee from SR8,000 to SR11,000 a year. “This has forced me to withdraw my child from that school and find him a seat in a government school,” he said.
Muhammad Al-Shayeb, another Saudi, said the kindergarten where his child is studying has increased the annual fee to SR14,000.
Maleeha Al-Qahtani, owner of a private school, said she had not increased tuition fee despite the increase in salaries, fearing her school would lose children.
“As a result of this decision I am facing financial problem,” she said. Al-Qahtani said the ministry should revise the decision that is harming small and medium enterprises. “I will be forced to increase fees, if the ministry did not change the decision.”
Pay hike for teachers hits private schools
