Expat families face huge hike in international school fees

Expats relocating with their families are facing a massive hike in international school fees across 27 countries.

A recent survey covering no less than 688 international schools in 27 world countries popular with relocating expat professionals has shown an average of 19 per cent tuition fee hikes. Combined with the increasing demand from affluent locals for international school places, the move is likely to cause difficulties for expat families reassigned abroad as well as for professionals seeking new career-oriented overseas positions along with their families.

The survey revealed China was the most expensive country as regards tuition fees at international schools, followed by Switzerland, Belgium, the UK and Singapore. This year, one child’s full international-n education in Switzerland will cost its parents around $1,106,883, whist the cost of a lower-tier international school in Thailand is around $6,542. Given that, as in other sectors such as housing, expats get what they can afford to pay for, it’s still an odious comparison.

For several decades, supply and demand has dominated the international school marketplace, with present-day requirements putting even more strain on expat parents attempting to do their best for their children. Nowadays, the soaring demand from host country parents is due to their realisation that an international-style education could well be a passport to a prestigious Western university as well as to positions in multinational companies. As a result, fees are certain to increase.

China is the number one example of the above trend, with ever-increasing numbers of famous international school brands opening up to serve affluent Chinese families. The trend towards acknowledgement of English as the international language of learning is now a global phenomenon and has catapulted English-medium education to the top of the must-have tree. The costs of an education at a China-based international school have risen by an average of $16,400 in 2018, but a similar Western international education is now around $22,700. Famous British and American schools are now charging top dollar plus the cost of boarding for children whose parents are working overseas.