The National newspaper this morning is reporting that Raha International School (RIS) is planning to increase fees by up to 43% to AED 72,000 per year, and parents are threatening to move their children to another school. The report is a bit misleading by comparing the grade 10 fees of AED 50,500 (which includes deposit and registration) with the fees for the new grade 11 expected to start in September 2009. Grade 11 in most schools is usually more expensive than grade 10 anyway. What is more realistic is to compare grade 10 with grade 10, which is AED 50,500 for 2008-2009 and expected to be up to AED 62,000 for 2009-2010, an increase of 23% (using figures from The National report), and that would make it the most expensive, or one of the most expensive
schools in Abu Dhabi. For comparison,
ACS Abu Dhabi is up to AED 60,000 for 2008-2009 (but that's up to grade 12), and
Abu Dhabi American Academy is up to AED 54,000 for 2008-2009
That's still a hefty increase but
Taaleem (previously Beacon Education), the owners of RIS, say they had been increasing fees 15% less than they were permitted by the UAE Ministry of Education in the "
three years since it opened" (odd, RIS opened in September 2006 so that should be 2 and a half years). And Clive Pierrepont, the director of communications and marketing at Taaleem also said that RIS would be "
subject to operating losses" for at least the next 2 years.
Raha School information has been updated with current fees and expected fees.
. What more could you want for your sprogs and sprogesses 
?
...