Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has revealed the results of the Educational Cost Index (ECI) and announced the approved structure for an optional increase of tuition fees for the academic year 2023/24.

The announcement follows a three-year pause in tuition fees to support parents during the pandemic and recovery period.

The academic year 2023/24 marks the fifth consecutive year that potential private school tuition fee increases have been assessed.

This is calculated based on the emirate’s ECI in collaboration with the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and individual schools’ Irtiqaa inspection scores. As a result, ADEK has sanctioned tuition fee increases for the next academic year.

Consequently, schools that ranked ‘outstanding’ in their Irtiqaa inspections for the academic year 2021/22 have the option to increase their tuition fees with a maximum cap of 3.94% in the new academic year, while schools that achieved a rating of ‘very good’ qualify for a 3.38% tuition fee addition.

Schools rated as ‘good’ are permitted to apply a 2.81% increase, and schools rated ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’, and ‘very weak’ can implement a maximum tuition fee increase of 2.25% – reflecting the ECI score.

To be eligible for a standard tuition fee increase, the school must be operating for a minimum of three years and must adhere to the approved revised fees structure.

According to the latest Irtiqaa inspection results, 11 schools were ranked ‘outstanding’, 37 ranked ‘very good’, 85 ranked ‘good’, 63 ranked ‘acceptable’, and 1 ranked ‘weak’.

The annual Irtiqaa inspections follow the UAE Unified School Inspection Framework and cover six performance standards: students’ achievement; students’ personal and social development and their innovation skills; teaching and assessment; curriculum; protection, care, guidance, and support of students; and leadership and management.

Each standard incorporates 17 performance indicators to assess each school’s academic and administrative effectiveness.