UAE expat parents fail to plan for hugely expensive education costs

In spite of education to university level in the UAE being the second most expensive on the planet, UAE parents are failing to plan for the costs.

According to a recent survey, expat and Emirati parents alike are facing huge charges for the education to university level of their children, but aren’t investing or saving money to pay the costs. Given that relocation packages include education are getting rarer and job security in the Gulf States is getting shakier, it’s surprising that no more than 17 per cent of respondents to the survey are using specific education investment or savings plans.

One of the most important aspects of relocating overseas with your family is ensuring the children have the quality international education necessary to ensure their futures, especially if applying for a place in a known Western university is part of the plan. The cost of international schools in the UAE is eye-watering, totalling around $100,000 for the full package from primary through to university. Only Hong Kong is more expensive for the same services, with expat professionals spending a total of $132,000 per child.

The majority of respondents to the HSBC survey said they were using their salaries to fund their children’s education from start to finish, with many adding their finances were stretched as a result. Over two thirds of those who took part in the study said they would be happy to go into debt to ensure their children were properly educated, with a similar number saying they’d given up holidays and leisure activities, changed their patterns of work and cut personal time to a minimum in order to be able to continue paying school fees. According to the survey, 50 per cent wished they had started to save far earlier, and those planning to send their kids to a foreign university said the UK was their first choice.