Several parents began registering their kids in local English language schools during the summer vacation to help them improve their linguistic skills. A number of schools offer English language courses which they claim are being taught by native speakers citing this as a reason for raising their course fees.

Several students accused these schools of not having their courses taught by “native English speakers.”

The teachers only have US or British passports, they said.

They said that the local English schools are just interested in making a profit during the summer break when a large number of students register for these courses.

A number of Saudi and expat fathers said that the English curriculums taught in schools are insufficient to develop English language skills so they enroll their kids in these private English language institutes which charge high course fees.

The English language schools on the other hand cite the hiring of foreign teachers as the reason for their high fees. Some of the schools offer advanced diploma programs which cost more according to the number of hours of training, a local newspaper said.

Course fees in these institutes range between SR1800 and SR 2000 per level and are determined by the cost of the English teachers. English schools which offer high quality courses usually hire English native teachers from the UK, USA and Australia giving them a reason to hike their course fees.

“I encouraged my son to enroll in a local English school even though I know that some schools are not qualified to teach the English language. However, English institutes are still better than Saudi schools in teaching English,” said a father.