An elite private school has sparked controversy over fees after its Administration more than doubled tuition for the 2025/26 academic year.

Lebawi International Academy (LIA), renowned for its high standards and international orientation, informed parents in July that the change was a currency-based adjustment rather than a fee increase.

Parents disagree. They call it “a large and unjustified price hike.” According to a statement the Parent-Teachers Association issued, “what the School calls an adjustment is, in both substance and impact, a major price increase.”

Lebawi, founded in 2004, offers a hybrid curriculum aligned with international standards and draws students from Ethiopians, the diaspora, and families of foreign nationality. It enrols more than 1,400 students across early childhood, primary, and secondary levels and operates as a private, fee-based academic institution subject to national education regulations.

The dispute dates back to an edict by education officials banning the collection of tuition in dollars. The Education & Training Authority (ETA), alongside the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), issued a prohibition earlier this year.

“Essentially, they wanted to compensate for the loss of profit.” Wubishet Tadelle Deputy Director Education & Training Authority (ETA)

Lebawi had, for years, tied its fees to the dollar, despite existing policies against it. After the ban, the school switched to a Birr-denominated schedule that parents say closely mirrors the old dollar amounts at prevailing exchange rates.

As complaints mounted, the ETA issued a series of escalating directives. A first letter dated June 4 followed a complaint from parents who said they were being asked to pay tuition pegged to the dollar. The Authority, under Ahmed Abitew, instructed the school to halt the practice immediately.

A second letter, issued on June 30, reiterated the order and told LIA administrators to comply by July 2. Five days later, the Authority sent a third warning, expressing frustration that student registration continued under revised rates. The education authorities state that they had consulted the school’s board and secured backing from the NBE, which confirmed the prohibition on tuition in any foreign currency.

The Authority demanded a detailed report by July 8 and called for an immediate suspension of student registration.

The school’s July notice outlined the new annual charges: 693,000 Br for early childhood and kindergarten, 840,000 Br for primary, and nearly a million Birr for Grades 9 through 12. In a letter to parents, the Administration defended the fees as final and carefully calculated to meet operational costs while sustaining educational quality in the wake of the currency shift.

Administrators insisted it was not a fee increase.

Families were not persuaded. According to leaders of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the School’s Administration moved without “meaningful discussions” with the broader parent community. They argue that Lebawi bypassed legal requirements mandating a general assembly of parents and guardians before financial decisions that impact parents and that the School unilaterally imposed the new fee structure.

A virtual meeting held on July 30, 2025, brought together the PTA, school administrators, and an ETA representative, but it ended without a consensus. According to the PTA, the School refused to acknowledge the increase as a “tuition hike” and declined to call a general parent assembly, despite the 2024 education regulation requiring formal consultation and agreement before any significant change in fees.

Wubshet Tadelle, deputy director of the ETA, confirmed that Lebawi had operated under a dollar-based model. He disclosed that repeated efforts were made to bring the institution into compliance, but the School’s administrations remained steadfast that what they once earned in dollar value is no longer recoverable in local currency without an upward price change.

“Essentially, they wanted to compensate for the loss of profit,” he told Fortune.

Despite multiple attempts, Lebawi’s Administration, run by Panos Hatziandreas, declined to comment.