Saudi private schools offer 50% discounts to lure students

RIYADH: Saudi private schools are offering discounts on fees of up 50 percent to attract students for the new educational year, which begins on Sunday.

Many parents are demanding fee reductions because the new term will begin with distance learning to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with school facilities unused — and some say the discounts being offered are not enough.

Ghassan Al-Turki, a communications engineer, said many private schools had not dealt with the pandemic as well as they could have, and had not refunded fees although students completed only half of the second semester.

“The schools promised to offer discounts of up to 50 percent, but many parents believe that there is no point in paying the tuition fees because the schools are not going to use the onsite facilities,” he told Arab News.

Mohammad Sabbah, a business development specialist, said one school had offered him a 30 percent discount on fees, but he refused. A 60 percent cut would be more fair, he said.

“My eldest son is at the secondary third grade and my wife and I will spend a lot of time with him to help him in his studies,” he said.

“The real problem is we do not know what the online education will be like. There will be huge challenges and some might be insurmountable.

“Perhaps if the situation continues, I will enroll my kids at the school that offers the largest discount because with distance learning, the quality of education will be the same in my opinion.”