DUBAI: Tuition fees checked by universities' expansion

The rapid opening of universities in Dubai has kept tuition fees down, the head of the emirate's education authority says, reports The National. Dr Abdulla al Karam, chairman of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said the growing number of university spaces was "working for the students". He was responding to concerns that too many universities have been opening, risking closures of those that fail to attract enough students.

The situation with universities contrasts with that for schools, Dr al Karam said, where there was a supply and demand "mismatch". This has caused heavy fee increases and led to caps on the rises schools can impose. "We don't see that happening at universities because the supply-demand formula is being managed very well," he said, adding that new universities was providing students with more choices and different curricula from different countries.

Dubai and Ras al Khaimah have free zones where overseas universities can open without a licence from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In Dubai's free zones, institutions need a licence from the Authority's University Quality Assurance International Board, which aims to ensure branch campuses maintain the standards of their home institution.
Full report on The National site