MoE readies guidelines for hike in ‘school fees’ for 2013-2014

The Private Education Department at the Ministry of Education (MoE) is currently preparing a new set of guidelines for increasing fees in Arab and foreign schools to be implemented in 2013/2014 academic year, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Assistant Undersecretary for Private Education Affairs Fahd Al-Ghais.

Al-Ghais has outrightly rejected the request of private school owners to increase the fees by KD 82 for the primary stage, KD 88 for the intermediate and KD 142 for the secondary. He called on owners of private schools in the country to strictly comply with the regulations of the ministry to avoid legal problems. He explained the approved annual school fee increase is three percent for Arab schools and five percent for their foreign counterparts. He asserted this decision remains in effect until the implementation of the new guidelines in 2013/2014 school year. He affirmed the ministry will conduct a comprehensive study prior to the enforcement of these guidelines to protect the rights of students, their parents or guardians, and the schools.

Warning the ministry will take the necessary legal measures against those who violate the rules, Al-Ghais urged all the parents or guardians, who may have paid extra fees, to submit their complaints directly to the Private Education Department.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is said to have violated the conditions and bylaws of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on stopping the appointment of retirees to benefit from their expertise, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed the ministry spent KD 51 million over the last years to grant monthly bonus to the retirees without legal backing. Sources said the ministry confirmed that the payment was made with the approval of the CSC and stopped when the latter issued a decision in this regard on Jan 1, 2010. Sources added the ministry is now waiting for a go signal from the commission to resume payment of the bonus.

Source: Arab Times