‘Rs 14 lakh tuition and Rs 3 lakh for the bus’: Dubai woman reveals the true cost of her daughter’s school, from tuition to transport and food
For parents, choosing a school is rarely just about academics. Location, facilities, transport, activities, and the overall learning environment can all influence the decision. But in Dubai, the cost of international schooling can add up quickly, especially when expenses beyond tuition are included. A Dubai-based mother has now given social media users a closer look at what she pays for her daughter’s education, revealing that the annual school bill goes far beyond the headline tuition fee.
Rs 14.34 lakh is just the tuition fee
Veronika, a mother of two living in Dubai, recently shared a video explaining how much she spends on her daughter’s schooling. Her daughter has joined GEMS International School in Dubai, and Veronika decided to break down the costs after receiving questions about school fees in the city. The first expense comes before the child even begins studying at the school. According to Veronika, parents have to pay an assessment fee of AED 525, which works out to around Rs 13,000.The bigger expense is the annual tuition fee. She said the school charges approximately AED 55,000 a year, which is around Rs 14.34 lakh. While parents can pay the tuition in installments, the payment does not cover everything a child may need during the school year. And that is where the total cost starts rising.
Transport, uniform and food come separately
One of the biggest additional expenses mentioned by Veronika is the school bus. The annual transport fee is around AED 12,000, or approximately Rs 3.12 lakh. The service picks children up from their homes and brings them back after school, making it convenient for working parents and families living farther from the school. Then comes the school uniform. Veronika said the uniform costs approximately AED 1,000, which is around Rs 26,000. But there was another expense that caught her attention: food.The tuition fee does not include meals, meaning parents have to arrange lunch separately for their children. For Veronika, that means preparing her daughter’s lunch every morning and sending her to school with a lunchbox. While the cost of a single lunch may seem small compared with the annual tuition or transport fee, it becomes another regular responsibility for parents to consider.
The real cost goes beyond the school fee
The breakdown highlights something parents can easily overlook when calculating the cost of education. A school may advertise or communicate an annual tuition fee, but the actual amount spent by a family can be considerably higher once transport, uniforms, meals, and other requirements are added. In this case, the tuition alone is around Rs 14.34 lakh. Adding the school bus and uniform takes the known annual expenses to roughly Rs 17.72 lakh, even before accounting for the assessment fee and other possible costs.That gives parents a very different picture of what international schooling can cost. For families moving to Dubai, these additional expenses can become an important part of their financial planning.
Why the video has started conversations online
Veronika’s video has prompted discussions among social media users about the cost of education in Dubai and the UAE. Some viewers focused on the high tuition fee and questioned whether the cost is justified by the facilities, teaching standards, and opportunities available at international schools. Others pointed out that tuition is only one part of the calculation. Transport, uniforms, food, and other school-related expenses can significantly increase the final bill.The conversation also highlights how different the experience of schooling can be for families living abroad. For parents, education is not simply about paying the advertised fee. It can involve a long list of smaller expenses that continue throughout the year. For Veronika, perhaps the biggest takeaway was exactly that. The Rs 14 lakh-plus tuition fee may be the number that immediately catches attention, but the real cost of sending a child to an international school can extend much further once all the extras are added.
