NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL/WAM

School fees skyrocket

UAE - AUG 31: Parents facing heavy increases in rent and food costs will have to struggle with yet another inflationary challenge this month: skyrocketing school fees.

Tuition fees have risen up to 50 per cent for some grades at private schools compared with last year amid a national shortage of places.

For some parents, the costs of school uniforms and transporting their children to the classroom have also risen above the country’s inflation rate of 11.4 per cent, a 20-year high.

The sharp rises have caused some parents to take drastic measures, including deferring the start of their children’s education until next year.

“Costs have considerably increased and at such an alarming pace,” said Usha Benjamin, 33, an Indian expatriate living in Sharjah who has two daughters, aged eight and five, starting school. “Everybody is worried.”

School administrators say the tuition increases have been unavoidable, and are tied to the same inflationary spiral that has driven up the cost of everything, in particular housing and food.

“The reality in the UAE, with the majority of education being private, is that nearly 100 per cent of school revenue comes from tuition,” said Jason McBride, the principal at the GEMS American Academy – Abu Dhabi, one of the few schools that did not raise its tuition fees this year.

“Unfortunately, when inflation is high and the costs of food, housing and transportation skyrockets it impacts families, but it also raises the costs associated with running a school.”

The cost of bringing in North American-trained teachers and paying them a premium, housing them and transporting them, he said, continued to rise every year, and tuition must follow suit.

“If everything is going up, how do schools afford to operate? They have to raise tuition; an unfortunate double whammy to parents,” he said.

At GEMS American Academy – Abu Dhabi, parents pay fees of Dh25,000 (US$6,806) for KG1, Dh38,000 for KG2 and Dh53,700 for grades 1 to 5.

The American Community School (ACS), one of a handful of internationally accredited schools in the country, has raised fees by 15 per cent this year. Previously, the school had never raised its tuition fees more than five or six per cent in a single year.

The reason for the big increase, said Dr George Robinson, superintendent of ACS, is that the school’s non-profit status meant it did not have a cushion for when operating costs rose. The school gave teachers a 10 per cent salary increase this year, in addition to making places for more students, which meant hiring more teachers from overseas.

“Rent of apartments for this increase in faculty was very expensive, with the cost of a typical two-bedroom apartment increasing from Dh40,000 to Dh50,000 per year two years ago to Dh160,000 now,” said Dr Robinson.

At the British School – Al Khubairat, primary school fees have been raised to Dh34,995 from Dh27,600, an increase of 27 per cent, while secondary school charges have been increased 10 per cent to Dh46,995, compared with Dh42,750 the previous year. The Sharjah English School this year put up annual fees for the first foundation year to Dh19,000, from Dh12,390 last year, an increase of 53 per cent.

Most schools are restricted to how much they can raise tuition fees, but parents complain the schools have compensated by raising transportation costs and other charges.

The rises have been felt across the spectrum: even parents whose children are in nursery school have seen fees rise considerably.

Angela Wells, 35, a British housewife with a son, aged three, and a daughter, aged 10 months, said her son’s monthly pre-school fees had increased to Dh1,890 from Dh1,450 last year, but that her husband’s company did not provide an education allowance until the children were four years of age.

“I will be working just to pay for my children to go to school,” she said. The situation is likely to worsen next year. The Ministry of Education announced in July that schools could raise fees by up to 30 per cent over three years, an even bigger increase than the previously permitted 20 per cent.

When the rule changed, Dr Maryam al Ali, director of the ministry’s Commission for Private Schools announced that only a small number of Abu Dhabi’s 111 private schools would be allowed the full increase.

The policy does not apply in Dubai, where the Knowledge and Human Development Authority controls school fees; many schools there had already raised their fees by 16 per cent last year and are not allowed to do so again this year.

A recent cost of living survey, released by an international human resources firm, ranked Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the second- and third-most expensive cities in the region.

Schools say the tuition increases have been driven by sharp increases in their own costs, particularly rent. Those rent costs are also making it difficult for new schools to open or existing institutions to expand. The increased cost of education is also impacting companies operating in the UAE. Iain Burns, vice president of corporate communications at Etihad Airways, said the company recently increased its education allowance for employees with children to account for the rising school fees.

“We knew what we were paying, we did a survey of what school fees cost and what they were going up to.

“We budgeted for it, we communicated it to our staff in May, and it goes into effect in September,” said Mr Burns.

THE NATIONAL

Monday is first day of holy month of Ramadan

Abu Dhabi - AUG 31: August  31, 2008 is the 30th day of the Islamic month of Sha'aban and Monday, September 1, 2008, is to be observed as the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, it was announced later today by the committee in charge of sighting the crescent of the holy month of Ramadan in the UAE.

The Minister of Justice and other members of the committee seized the opportunity to extend their profound greetings and congratulations to President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Their Highnesses, Supreme Council members and rulers of the emirates, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and the crown princes of the other emirates.

The committee prayed to Allah to protect the president and to grant him good health.

The committee also congratulated all Muslims inside and outside the UAE on the happy occasion and prayed to Allah for peace and tranquillity in the world and for unity among all Muslims of the world.

WAM

Officials seek end to illegal housing

DUBAI - AUG 31: Municipality officials will meet this week to discuss how to stop the illegal housing of bachelors in villas across the city.

The meeting follows the deaths of 11 workers last Tuesday, when their overcrowded villa in the Naif area of Dubai was destroyed by fire.

The villa accommodated more than 500 men, all of them living in overcrowded rooms that violated health and safety standards.

“We were aware of these villas in Naif area and notices had been sent to many of them,” said Omar Mohammed Abdul Rahman, the head of the buildings inspection section at Dubai Municipality.

“In fact, the owner of the villa that caught fire was given several notices to vacate in 2006, but he illegally continued to house these people.

“All senior officials in the department will meet this week and discuss the next course of action.”

After cordoning off the area, police allowed the fire victims to collect the remains of their belongings from the villa on Friday.

Residents were seen sifting through the burnt remains of their rooms for any valuables that might have survived the blaze.

Dubai police confirmed yesterday that three people, two Emiratis and an Asian, had been arrested in connection with the fire.

Abdul Jaleel Mahdi Mohammed, the deputy director of preventive security at Dubai police, said one of the Emiratis was the landlord, the other was the middleman and the Asian was the agent. Police were also looking for another Asian man, he said.

Authorities in Dubai have repeatedly ordered bachelors out of villas and have also warned against overcrowding and the illegal partitioning of rooms. Dubai Municipality is also planning to clampdown on more than 400 labour camps for failing to meet minimum health and safety standards.

But yesterday, bachelors were still living in congested villas across Dubai, including one next door to the villa that was destroyed by the blaze.

Many bachelors told of how soaring room rents forced them to live in such dangerous environments, despite being aware of the risks.

“We know that we could be the next victims of a fire.

“However, many of us continue to live here because we cannot afford the rents charged in buildings,” said Alexander, a resident of the villa next door to the one that caught fire.

Areas such as Naif, Deira and Hor al Anz in Dubai are rife with overcrowded villas that accommodate single men.

THE NATIONAL

Capital’s transit plan takes shape

ABU DHABI - AUG 31: The days of the automobile clogging the city’s transportation infrastructure may be numbered if a comprehensive transport plan comes to fruition.

Routes and stops for a metro system, high-speed rail, buses, trams and even water taxis are all linked in a transit network master plan drawn up by the Department of Transport (DoT). The Government is considering options for meeting future transport needs as the emirate continues to grow at a rapid rate. Solutions could include more motorways and congestion charges, but planners say mass transit will feature prominently when the surface transport master plan is released in February. Aldar Properties has already begun laying the groundwork for seven of 16 stations earmarked for a tram line at the Al Raha Beach development. Aldar had already planned for a tram, but has since meshed its ideas with the Government. Meanwhile, the developer and the DoT are reserving space for a tram loop and a metro on Yas Island, the future home of the Formula One Grand Prix.

A network of tram lines is tentatively scheduled to open in 2015, while the metro is planned for 2020. A regional train service should be ready between 2020 and 2030, according to the DoT. Residents witnessed the first steps toward an integrated system this summer, when buses began operating on four routes in Abu Dhabi. The Government plans to have 21 routes operating by 2009.

THE NATIONAL

IVF restrictions force women abroad

DUBAI - AUG 31: Women with fertility problems could be missing out on the chance to have a baby because of a lack of treatment facilities, experts have warned.

Women are increasingly seeking treatment abroad, where they feel better care is offered for less money, and waiting lists are non-existent.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is available at both public and private clinics in six of the emirates.

But in Dubai, the fertility business is more tightly regulated than in the rest of the country. Private clinics are banned from offering IVF to couples, leaving just one government fertility centre that provides the therapy.

And this week, Dubai reiterated its rigid stance when it released a statement advising that any clinics that flouted the rule and offered IVF would be immediately closed down.

“Dubai does not allow treatment in private hospitals and clinics, but I have no idea why they did this,” said Aysha al Roomi, from the Health Committee on the Federal National Council.

“The law was meant for all of the UAE and the private and public sectors. Dubai will not allow it in the private sector; I don’t know why.”

Doctors say the restriction can interfere with a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant.

Dr Michael Fakih, who runs the Fakih Gynaecology and Obstetrics private clinic in Dubai, says the services he can offer to women who are having trouble conceiving are limited to hormonal tablets and certain surgical procedures.

For IVF, he refers patients to the Government’s clinic.

“I’ve heard that the waiting list can be up to two years. For a woman who’s trying to get pregnant, especially if she is over 35, a long wait for treatment could really reduce her chances.

“It’s absolutely, absolutely frustrating not to be able to treat them. You are taking the most successful procedure away from them.”

Fertility rates are dropping in the UAE, mainly due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition in which the ovaries release eggs less frequently, or not at all.

Earlier this year, a senior Ministry of Health (MoH) official said there was an urgent need for more fertility centres to meet the increased demand.

“At present, there is one in Dubai, but that is not enough to meet the requirements of the people in the northern emirates,” said Hamad Taryam al Shamsi, the head of the Ajman Medical District.

“New centres are being planned by the MoH and the services allowed by Islam will be provided.”

There are proposals to start an IVF institute in Ajman and to establish a further fertility centre in the emirate.

IVF is a fertility treatment by which a woman’s eggs are fertilised by sperm outside of the womb. Many women require several treatments before becoming pregnant. The procedure, often painful and expensive, is usually a last hope for couples wanting children. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said it was strictly enforcing its rules for moral and ethical reasons.

Dr Odeh Ahmed, the acting head of the facility control unit and quality assurance licensing department with the DHA, said doctors who did not share Islamic values might be tempted to allow a woman to become pregnant by a man other than her husband.

“From an ethical point of view, there are special precautions which could not be easily controlled by private clinics, as the emirates are multinational. The Government needs more control, which is why IVF is still banned in Dubai.

A Dubai endocrinologist, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from the health establishment, said the tight restrictions were not needed. “I don’t see any reason to forbid a medical practice even if one or two doctors have made a wrong decision, otherwise we’ll forbid people from driving because one person got into an accident.”

He said the law that applied across the UAE was stringent enough to guide doctors in their practices and that the religion or creed of the doctor had no bearing on whether he was willing to follow the rules.

Last year, 1,700 couples went to the Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre for treatment and 800 received assisted reproduction therapies, said Dr Mohamed el Kalyoubi, a consultant obstetric gynecologist and IVF expert at the centre.

As for the continued ban on private clinics offering IVF, he said: “Doctors don’t do policy. It is not us that requested that we are the only centre in Dubai, it was the decision of the Government in Dubai. They are the people who make the policy.”

THE NATIONAL