It was only yesterday that news broke about 120 educational institutions in the country requesting the Ministry of Education and Higher Education permission to increase fees for the new academic year.

The education ministry has reiterated that schools will be allowed to increase fees only after it carries out a comprehensive evaluation of applications from schools, based on the financial statements they provided and steps taken for development of the students’ academic performance, reported Qatar Tribune.

The ministry, on its Twitter account, clarified that mere application for a fee hike does not mean it would be granted.

The Private Schools Office will study the applications in detail and come to a conclusion after due diligence.

Many parents reacted with shock and incredulity on Qatar Living when the news was published yesterday.

“What’s the reason behind this? Are there any additional felicities the schools will be adding? It will be the same school, same teachers, same bus, same books and same way of teaching. But the fees….” said QL user Shafeek Ali on Facebook.

Mahi Mahi felt the schools should focus on controlling costs rather than increase fees.

“Rather than increasing fees, try to control cost. There’re so many unnecessary things schools are doing. One school charges QR100 for an ID card. It’s just one scanned paper put into a plastic case, which isn’t even worth QR10,” the user said.

Rasheed Mansour was sarcastic while reacting to the report.

“What do I expect from this hike? The level of education will now go higher so that when my daughter reaches third grade, she can join NASA,” he said.

There were also many parents who said that education had become mere business to make profit for private schools.

Last year, 162 schools and KGs sought permission to hike their fees, but only 55 were granted permission to raise their fees by 2 to 7%.