What Is a Tuition Waiver – and How Much Is It Really Worth for Teachers Abroad?
If you’re considering teaching abroad with your family, chances are you’ll be researching tuition waivers – and whether the schools you’d love to work at offer these for teaching staff.
While salary can be the headline figure for some teachers, for those with kids, tuition waivers are one benefit that quicky outweigh all the others!
If you have school-aged children, understanding how tuition waivers work — and how much they’re really worth — can help you to decide which schools are worth applying to. They can also help you decide which schools aren’t worth the application process.
What Exactly Are Tuition Waivers?
Tuition waivers are when an international school allows your child (or children) to attend either for free or at a discounted rate. This forms part of your teaching benefits – along with things like flight benefits, housing allowances and health insurance.
At many international schools, tuition fees can range from USD $10,000 – $30,000 per child, per year — sometimes even higher in major cities such as Singapore, Dubai, or Tokyo.
So if your new contract includes a 100 % tuition waiver for two children, that’s an immediate benefit worth $40,000–$60,000 a year, or well over $100,000 across a two-year contract.
Why Tuition Waivers Matter So Much for Teaching Families
Back home, most teachers could never afford to send their kids to private or international schools. For example, at top private schools in Brisbane, Australia, teaching staff are offered a small discount (usually around 20%). While this is a great benefit, for most families, the expenses of private school fees mean sending your kids to the same still is still out of reach – even with a discount.
But teaching overseas flips that reality on its head, especially if you can access 100% fee remission.
A good tuition waiver means your kids can:
- Access a world-class education delivered in English and aligned to international curricula (IB, British, or American).
- Learn alongside peers from dozens of nationalities — often in classes of 15–20 students.
- Participate in global opportunities such as Model UN, robotics, or sports exchanges, all within the same school community.
For many international families, it’s not just about savings — it’s about creating an educational experience they couldn’t replicate at home, while getting the chance to live and explore abroad together.
How Much Are Tuition Waivers Actually Worth?
Good question! It really depends on each school as fees can vary wildly depending on the type of school and the location.
Here’s an example based on average tuition of a top international school in Asia to help you work out the value that tuition waivers can add to your overall teaching package.
| Example | Value |
|---|---|
| School tuition per child | USD $22,000 |
| You have two children and their coverage is 100% | USD $44,000 |
| Contract length | 2 years |
| Total value of tuition waiver | USD $88,000 |
Even if the salary itself seems modest by Western standards, a strong tuition waiver can easily double the overall value of your package once you include housing, flights, and insurance.
For many teachers, this is what makes overseas life not just sustainable — but financially advantageous.
The Controversy: Why Tuition Waivers Spark Mixed Feelings
Despite the clear advantages for families, tuition waivers sometimes cause friction inside schools.
We’ve experienced some teachers who don’t have kids feeling quite strongly that families get all the perks, especially when salary grids don’t distinguish between household types. Some school leaders also worry that offering multiple tuition places eats into profit margins or reduces available seats for paying families.
But here’s what’s often missed:
- Most international schools aren’t full. Teacher dependents rarely take spots that could otherwise be sold.
- Teaching families aren’t getting paid more. Teachers with kids aren’t being given any additional salary to teachers without kids. While the tuition waivers save families a lot of money because they don’t pay fees (and in reality wouldn’t be able to go international if they did) – the reality is that it’s not technically costing the school anything if there’s no waiting list.
- Experienced teachers often have families. If a school wants skilled, stable staff, offering family-friendly packages is essential.
- Families tend to stay longer. Teachers with children are less likely to move every two years, saving schools money on recruitment and improving continuity.
From an operational standpoint, tuition waivers are often cost-neutral but deliver high returns in staff quality and community stability.
An experienced teaching friend of mine at a well-known international school in Asia was recently told that his kid was ‘taking up fee-paying spaces’ by a Head of School. While the comment was made in jest, it was disappointing – and untrue. The school didn’t have a waiting list and wasn’t at capacity.
How Schools Use Tuition Waivers Strategically
Progressive international schools that offer family-friendly benefits recognise tuition waivers as an investment.
They use them to:
- Attract experienced educators who bring leadership and curriculum expertise.
- Build loyalty — when a teacher’s child is happy and settled, the whole family tends to extend contracts.
- Strengthen school culture, as teachers with children at the school often have deeper insight into the parent experience.
What to Check in a Tuition Waiver Policy
Not all tuition waivers are the same. Before you sign a teaching contract, ask specific questions:
- How much is covered? Full, 75 %, or 50 %?
- How many dependents are covered? A lot of international schools cap it at one or two children.
- Are extra fees included? Capital levies, activity fees, and technology costs can add up fast.
- Is there a waiting list? Smaller schools may only guarantee spots “if space allows.”
- What about early years? Nursery or preschool programs are often excluded or only partially discounted.
- Are there tax implications? In a few countries, waived tuition may be considered taxable income.
Ask HR for the policy in writing. A transparent school should be happy to share details.
Tuition Wavers and Benefits
Tuition benefits aren’t just a line item on your contract — it’s a major factor in your quality of life abroad.
For teaching families, it’s not so much about the value of the benefit, but the fact that it makes the move internationally a possibility. Because for most international teachers having to pay for fees would make it financially impossible. It also provides stability, opportunity, and community.
For schools, it’s a smart, long-term investment in recruiting and retaining the kind of experienced educators who make a school exceptional.
So when comparing job offers, don’t just look at salary.
Read Next: Do All Schools Offer Tuition Benefits?
