27 more private schools coming up in Dubai

DUBAI: Twenty-seven new private schools will open in the next academic year to meet the growing demand for quality schooling in the emirate. These new schools will offer 63,000 seats.

In 2014-2015 academic year, only 11 private schools were opened and seven in the current year. As of now the total therefore stood at 169, with a capacity for 255,208 pupils. With the sanctioned additional schools, there will be total 196 private schools by 2017, with a capacity for 341,000 pupils, an announcement by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said.

According to a WhichSchoolAdvisor survey, parents are looking for more options.

“If you’re coming with standard school operation, yes, it is a crowded space and you expect that from a mature market or a maturing market,” said Dr Abdulla Al Karam, director general of the KHDA. He said schools could specialise in subjects such as sport, arts or languages, reports The National.ae.

Schools that opened this academic year include four British curriculum schools, Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, Ranches Primary School, St Mary’s Catholic High School Dubai and Hartland International School. There was also the German International School Dubai, the Indian Amled School, and a Swiss-IB school, the Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai.

Dr Al Karam made the announcement to private school operators, owners and principals gathered for the annual International and Private Schools Education Forum on Tuesday.

At the Education Forum, Roddy Hammond, CEO of Worldteachers, UK-based education recruitment experts, said the demand for international teachers is among the top three challenges facing schools in the Gulf region. “The other two are choosing the most effective ways to attract candidates, and having the best processes to reduce delays and avoid losing good candidates.”

WhichSchoolAdvisor survey said the single most important consideration for a parent when assessing or choosing a school is the quality of its teachers. This consideration was top in 2013 and it remains top in 2015. (SEE: KHDA Dubai School Rankings Table)

It said, "That said, turnover of staff, where teachers are recruited from, the age of teachers (the younger, in general the less experienced – although, arguably, more passionate), are more objective criteria that there is a degree more access to – specifically in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which benefit from published reports from the KHDA and ADEC. Even in these two well served emirates however, KG information is unavailable."

September 30, 2015