[Editor’s Note: This article is part of Khaleej Times’ Schools and Parents, a dedicated section designed to support families in the UAE as they explore educational choices. The section offers explainers, guidance from education leaders, expert advice and insights from parents to help readers make informed decisions about schools, curricula and communities.]
For many expatriate families in the UAE, education is treated as a continuous journey — school admission, annual fee payments, graduation plans. But beneath that routine lies a financial curve that often sharpens too late.
Experts say the real challenge is not school affordability alone, but the transition into university costs, which arrive as a concentrated financial event rather than a gradual expense.
We break down the issue as a financial timeline — and the decision points where families often fall behind.
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Why are education costs now seen as a ‘financial event’ rather than a regular expense?
Dr Farah Hashim, Operations Manager at Vault22, says most parents underestimate how sharply costs accelerate after school.
She explains that university funding is often treated as a distant concern until it becomes urgent.
“Ideally, parents should begin planning for university costs as early as their child enters primary school. The most common blind spot is focusing on current school fees while underestimating the true cost of higher education, including tuition inflation, accommodation, travel expenses, and currency fluctuations. Many families only start serious planning in the final years of secondary school, by which point their options may be more limited.”
She adds that education funding must be viewed alongside retirement and emergency savings — not in isolation.
The key issue, she notes, is timing: the later planning begins, the fewer financial pathways remain open.
Phase 1 – Early school years: why is this stage where most families underestimate the cost curve?
In the UAE, early schooling is often the first major financial commitment for expat families. But experts say this stage creates a false sense of control.
Monthly school fees are visible and predictable, which leads many parents to assume future education costs will behave the same way.
However, this is also the stage where saving capacity is quietly reduced– rent, lifestyle costs, and schooling combined often leave limited room for long-term investments.
Dr Hashim notes that parents frequently delay structured education funds because “school is already expensive,” not realising that university costs operate on a completely different scale.
At this point, the financial mindset is reactive rather than — focused on paying bills rather than building capital.
Adding to the challenge, Avinash Bhojwani, Accredited Specialist at NCM Financial Services, says rising school and university costs can create a substantial funding gap if parents delay planning.
“As school fees and university bills continue to rise over time, a significant financial gap can emerge between what parents have saved and what will actually be required when their child reaches university age,” he says.
According to Bhojwani, families should focus on two priorities early: protecting their financial future potentially through adequate term insurance during a child’s education years, and building a dedicated education fund through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP).
He notes that time is one of the most powerful factors in education planning. “For children aged four to seven years, an SIP started today may potentially cover close to 100 per cent of future education costs. For children aged eight to 11, the same strategy may cover around 75 per cent of future costs. For children aged 12 years and above, it may cover only 50 per cent or less, as there is less time for investments to grow while education costs continue to rise.”
Bhojwani also advises parents to research likely university costs across multiple destination to incorporate those projections into long-term savings plans.
Phase 2 – Secondary school years: when does reality begin to set in?
By the time children reach secondary school, families begin to confront rising fees, subject choices, and early university discussions.
This is often the first moment when parents start comparing destinations— UK, US, Europe, or staying within the UAE.
But experts say this is also when financial pressure becomes visible, not yet manageable.
Akshay Sardana, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Continental Group, highlights that this is where many families begin planning too narrowly.
“Most parents plan toward a destination, sometimes a very specific one. That is both rigid and risky… nobody knows what higher education looks like by then. The traditional university model is under real pressure from AI and alternative learning pathways. It is more prudent for parents to save for opportunity, not a specific university.”
He adds that families should already be thinking in terms of protection, liquidity, and growth — rather than aspirational destinations alone.
At this stage, experts say many parents’ aspiration for their child to attend a top university begins to clash with financial reality.
Phase 3 – Final two years: why is this the crunch point for UAE families?
The final stretch of school is where financial planning often becomes urgent and sometimes restrictive.
Offers from universities arrive alongside tuition deposits, accommodation payments, and visa-linked costs. For UAE expat families, this is also where currency exposure becomes real — payments in pounds, dollars, or euros suddenly matter.
Sardana highlights that tuition is only part of the total bill.
“Tuition is only one line in a much longer bill. Accommodation, living costs, travel and emergency provisions abroad collectively push the true cost of an overseas education well above most people’s thresholds, before currency movement enters the picture at all.”
At this point, families who have not built structured savings are forced into rapid decisions: student loans, alternative universities, or regional institutions.
Some even pivot to local universities to manage costs, balancing prestige with financial control.
What makes the UAE context uniquely challenging for education planning?
The UAE adds several layers of financial complexity.
High expatriate living costs already reduce disposable income for long-term savings. Families often juggle rent, international schooling, and remittance obligations simultaneously.
There is also multi-currency exposure: savings may be in dirhams, but university fees are often in foreign currencies.
Akshay Sardana points out that this mismatch can widen over time, especially with inflation.
For many families, education planning becomes a fallback system rather than a structured investment strategy, something activated only when deadlines approach.
Where do most families go wrong in planning?
Experts say the biggest mistake is planning for a “destination” instead of a “range of outcomes.”
Parents often lock into one university or country early on, which reduces flexibility later.
Sardana cautions that this rigidity becomes emotionally difficult to change even when financial circumstances shift.
Another overlooked issue is hidden cost accumulation — application fees, test preparation, accommodation deposits, and travel expenses, which can add significant burden before tuition even begins.
He adds that significant debt taken purely to preserve university branding can create long-term financial strain.
What does better planning actually look like in practice?
Financial planners recommend treating education as an 18-year horizon.
Sardana suggests structuring it across protection, liquidity, and growth, starting with income security before investment returns.
Without that foundation, he says, “the investment conversation is largely theoretical.”
Dr Hashim echoes this, emphasising early contributions and compounding benefits.
The idea is not just saving more — but saving earlier, even in small amounts, to smooth out future cost shocks.
What does better planning actually look like in practice?
For many families, awareness comes after experience.
Indian expat Anita Paul says she only realised the importance of early planning after her son entered primary school.
“New parents need to be educated early about funding their children’s education. With costs rising globally, it’s important to start planning for education funds as soon as possible. My son is nine now, but it is never too late. We’ve recently started an education savings plan because both school and university education are becoming so expensive.”
She adds that monthly savings bring psychological relief as much as financial security.
Chinese expat Li Mei Chen, whose son is now 20, describes a different stage of the journey– execution after years of preparation.
“We started talking about university costs for our son when he was still in the early years of primary school. We knew that if he ever got into a place like an Ivy League university, the bill wouldn’t just be big, it would be life-changing if we weren’t ready. So, we started early. Nothing big, just a monthly transfer into a separate education fund.”
She adds that the biggest benefit was not just affordability but stability.
“When the offer finally came through, we were over the moon but honestly, there was also this quiet relief. We weren’t scrambling or panicking about how to pay for it,” she added.
Source: Khaleej Times