In the case of single mother Umme Hamid, payment of her 11-year-old son’s school fees on a term basis was out of the question. She, therefore, came up with a deal of paying the fees in installments with the school that her son was attending in Sharjah.
As in the case of Umme Hamid, many parents have discussed with their respective schools and established the ability to pay a term’s fees per installment. Some opt to use credit cards and bank offers to split into affordable amounts to make the payment in incremental forms.
Like most schools around the world, many schools in the UAE expect parents to pay their fees on a term basis.
However, several schools including the ones offering an Indian syllabus permit the parents to pay monthly or per term.
Parent Sarah K. said she supports her Grade 1 son every month. “I have a child in English High School in Dubai, and this school allows me to pay the school fees either on a monthly or on a term basis,” she said.
“I am grateful for that because it does not impose something unnecessary on us anymore”. On the same note, parents also have the opportunity to pay bus fees monthly.
Using credit cards
Some of the banks offers and credit card options, which make it possible for parents to pay the school fees in instalments with no extra charges. Prest, Tabby and Payit are some of the other platforms that offer such a monthly payment option.
Also, Umm Hamid went on to say that her first choice would have been to own a credit card, but she could not afford one. “They insist that anyone wishing to get a credit card must have a salary of above Dh5000’, she said.
“As I was living in the company accommodate, my housing allowance was being deducted from my salary meaning apart from my transport allowance what was coming into my account was less than Dh5000 this saw my request for a credit card to be turned down, that is why I went to the school.”
Mohammed Iqbal a resident of Sharjah used credit card for the first time ever with an intention to pay school fees. “I had been paying school fees for my three children on per term basis,” he said.
“However, last year I had a financial emergency hence unable to make a quarterly payment I had to go to the school for a payment plan but they wouldn’t listen hence prompting me to get a credit card.”
Iqbal said that credit card option was a right choice as the amount was much easier for him to pay in portions rather than a large sum.
“I was very thankful for the option because I was on the verge of pulling my children out of school there was no way for me to afford the tuition fee,” he said.
‘Allowed in unique cases’
A senior official of a reputed British standard curriculum school in Jumeirah stated that the management permitted few of its clients to maintain their payments in installments in certain conditions of hardship.
“The rule is that school fees must be paid on a quarterly basis,” he said.
“However, there are some instances when people face financial difficulties and approach school. We understand it and negotiate a payment plan with them. However, this is not something we advertise because we don’t want parents to approach without a legitimate reason.”
Formerly, Sharjah parent Naheeda Abbas had said that she had negotiated a plan with the institute her daughter was studying in.
“With three children studying in university, an institute, and school, the start of school terms are always tough for us,” she said.
“We approached the school and institute for a payment plan. The school declined but the institute agreed to do so. It has been a big help for us.”