Families hit hard by hike in school fees A hike in school fees and the prices of text books being imposed by several private schools have put an additional burden on a number of middle-income families who are reeling under the spiralling cost of living in the country. Several aggrieved parents say that they are struggling to cope with the high educational expenses. A senior official from the Department of Private Education at the Ministry recently said that many private and community schools had approached it seeking permission to raise their fees citing a hike in operational costs. The Ministry apparently has responded positively to such requests, resulting in a hike in school fees, with the beginning of the new academic year. The tuition fees charged by private schools range from QR20,00 to QR50,000 per year depending on the nature of the school and the facilities offered. �Our school has raised the fees from QR10,000 to QR160,000. This is in addition to an increase in the prices of text books which now amount to QR2,500 in total," lamented an Arab parent. Many parents prefer to put their children in private and international schools due to their high quality of coaching, particularly in English language. �Since many of these schools are not teaching Arabic language in a proper way, we have to give special tuitions in Arabic for our children. This puts an extra burden on many parents, besides the high school fees," said Atif Jassim, another parent. An Arab woman said she was forced to shift her children from a private school to a government institution, after the school hiked the fees. �We had to pay QR16,000 per year for one child. Imagine the situation of parents with two or three children," she said. She urged private schools to keep their fees moderate so that the low and middle-income segments can also benefit from their services. Hassan Al Bakir, principal of an Independent School said, "Private schools are playing a vital role in imparting quality education, though many people can not afford the high fees." Some parents felt that the Independent schools being established across the country offer a solution to the problem by offering high quality education on par with the top ranking private schools. The Pen Note: I'm sure the Pen made a mistake. The price must have gone up to 16 not 160.

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