Dubai private schools report 3.5% growth in student enrolments

Enrolment in Dubai’s private schools has grown 3.5 per cent since the start of the last academic year, with an addition of nearly 10,000 students.

The total number of students enrolled in the city’s private schools as of October 14, 2021, stands at 289,019, and they belong to 185 nationalities. The total number of Emirati students among them has been reported to be 30,515.

According to infographics on the Dubai schools sector released by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the emirate now has 215 private schools, 21 of which have opened in the last three years.

At 53 per cent, Deira accounted for the largest share of schools by district, followed by Mushrif (41 per cent), Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (36 per cent) and Jumeirah (20 per cent).

.@KHDA: Enrolment in #Dubai’s private schools has grown 3.5% since the start of the last academic year, with an addition of nearly 10,000 students.https://t.co/2PePdRaQE0 pic.twitter.com/ZrsmI5Qa5E

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) November 9, 2021

There are a total of 17 curricula followed across the different private schools. The most popular among them is the UK curriculum with 102,813 students enrolled in it, followed by 75,592 students following the Indian curriculum and 45,051 enrolled in the US curriculum.

Around 42 per cent of all students pay an annual fee of less than Dhs18,000 per annum. Another 22 per cent pay fees of between Dhs18,000-Dhs35,000, 14 per cent pay fees of between Dhs35,000-Dhs55,000, 19 per cent pay fees between Dhs55,000-Dhs75,000 and 9 per cent pay annual fees in excess of Dhs75,000.

Also featured in the infographics are figures from the KHDA parent survey conducted this year, completed by more than 70,000 parents. According to the survey, 87 per cent of parents said they are satisfied with the quality of education their children receive in Dubai.

The report also noted almost half of all teachers in Dubai were under 40 years old, with India, UK and Egypt making up the top three nationalities.

Starting October 3, all students enrolled in private schools across Dubai were required to return to their campus full time. The KHDA said that 96 per cent of all school staff have now been fully vaccinated.

In June, the KHDA also confirmed that 10 new schools will open in Dubai in the 2021-2022 academic year offering Australian, UK, US and IB curricula. As a result, an additional 14,671 new seats will be added to the city’s education landscape.

Read: Dubai to get 10 new schools in upcoming academic year