High fees at private schools in the Kingdom has forced over 300,000 expatriate students to quit because their parents cannot afford it, according to an education expert.

“Most expat students are only allowed to study at private schools. Government schools do not accept expat students these days. However, these private schools are charging over SR25,000 a year. Many parents cannot afford this,” Malek Al-Ghamdi told Arab News.

Al-Ghamdi is an education researcher and former member of the private schools’ committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

International schools have increased their fees by 20 to 30 percent this year, which has forced parents to withdraw their children. Some of them have said that the fees have increased by SR3,000, while quality has not improved.

One parent said he recently asked officials at a local school why they were raising their fees.

“I was told that all schools are doing it these days. Some people even borrow money to pay for the high tuition fees,” he said.

The Ministry of Education had approved a system governing tuition fees at private schools based on the school building, facilities, and education services.

A committee, headed by the Director General of Private and Foreign Education Muhammad Esa Al-Otaibi, classifies each school and determines tuition fees.

Adel Hassan, an Egyptian resident who has three sons studying at a private school, said that he pays SR17,000 extra a year for his children’s education.

He said he is struggling to pay the fees. He called on the government to monitor schools.

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