KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — International school fees in Malaysia are the eighth most expensive in the world for expatriates, just behind Singapore but ahead of Austria and even Australia, according to a new global poll.

A survey of 707 international schools in 98 countries by ExpatFinder.com, a website offering information on living abroad, found that the median tuition for a sixth-grade — the equivalent of a Primary Six — student here is US$21,600 (RM96,433.20) a year, just US$100 cheaper than in Singapore, which ranked seventh.

The ExpatFinder International School Fee Survey 2016 listed China, which charges a median US$36,400 a year, as the costliest country for international education, far outstripping Switzerland (US$28,300 per annum) in second place and Belgium (US$27,800 per annum) in third.

In descending order, the other countries that made up the top 10 most expensive places for international education were: the UK (US$25,270), Hong Kong (US$23,360), the US (US$22,640), Singapore (US$21,700), Malaysia, Austria (US$20,900) and Australia (US$20,100).

According to ExpatFinder, the average tuition fees at international schools have grown by 3.43 per cent this year compared to last year.

"We still see a trend of expat families looking for growth opportunities offshore given challenges in the domestic environment.

"However, according to our survey findings, international school fees are steadily rising, particularly in markets that are popular destinations with expats,” its founder and CEO Sébastien Deschamps, said in a statement.

As such, he said expatriate parents were rethinking their approach to their children’s education, with some now opting for home-schooling, enrolling them in local schools with internationally-recognised curriculum and even private tutoring.

The ExpatFinder survey said that there are typically three types of mandatory costs listed in international school enrolment: admission, registration and application fees.

However, it added that there may also be additional costs excluded from the charges, such as uniforms, materials or books, transport, examinations, extracurricular activities, elective subjects and boarding.

Malaysia has some 94 international schools nationwide, according to website School Malaysia, which lists educational institutions from early childhood to pre-tertiary level.