The rise and rise of Dubai schools

With the current rate of expansion, schools in the emirate are fully prepared to meet future demand.

The UAE’s education sector is expanding fast, led by the private school sector. In Dubai alone, a record 15 new private schools opened in the current 2016-17 academic year – more than twice the seven schools that opened in the last academic year.

Dubai has the world’s greatest concentration of English-medium international private schools in any city, with around 280 such schools based here.

A new report says Dubai will need 74,500 additional seats in 50 new private schools by 2020. Is the projection achievable? If current trends are any indication, it does appear possible. For example, the new schools that opened this academic year are already about 90 per cent full.

At least 400 parties had shown interest in opening up a school in Dubai for this school year.

Al Beloushi is confident the lead up to Expo 2020 will attract more families – and hence schoolchildren – to Dubai.

“We know, based on our studies and research, that the new capacity added to the market will be utilised by the newcomers, be they [UAE] residents or people coming here. People will be working for the Expo and other developments happening in the market,” she said.

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Kalthoom Al Beloushi, Executive Director of Education Development at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), told Gulf News why schools are flocking here; how Dubai’s education regulator is playing a proactive role in facilitating new schools; future expectations; and what the power of greater choice in schooling means for stakeholders.

What’s making Dubai a magnet for quality schools

Forward Ed approach: KHDA has a new Forward Ed (Education) team that actively promotes opportunities in schooling in Dubai, without waiting for investors to come to the KHDA.

“Their role is to go, proactively, on the local, regional, and international level and meet different people – investors, operators, school owners – and tell them ‘these are the opportunities available in Dubai, this is how the market looks like’, and then getting them on board from the beginning,” she added.

Al Beloushi pointed out that all information supplied is backed by data analysis, raw figures and research.

“I think both the availability of the data and having a dedicated team on the ground that is approachable – locally and internationally – has created more interest in Dubai and added students to the market.”

Spreading out in areas: Most of the new schools are opening in the newer areas of Dubai and near the gated communities, as the older areas are “fully occupied”. Many new families to Dubai are also taking residence in the new areas, meaning a school is never too far away. In some cases, the school run means parents walking their children to school, Al Beloushi said.

Specific projections of schools: Another new trend is the way schools are projecting themselves, be they American, British or Indian schools.

“For the first time, there are schools that target the Emirati, Arab and Muslim community… In nature, they might be similar in curriculum – so UK, US or Indian – but in actual establishment, they are very different even with the curriculum. They target different types of students, of different nationalities and backgrounds. What we have seen overall in common, is the growth.”

School discounts: The expansion has led to “a huge choice for parents”, who are presented various kinds of discounts on fees. “Many years back we didn’t have these school discounts, and now it’s the best time for parents. The schools really understand how to react to the market and the consumer,” Al Beloushi added.

“It’s a healthy competition. It definitely ensures schools are doing their best to ensure they are serving the consumer… There’s no longer that classical option, ‘my cousin went to a certain school, so I need to go to the same school’. No – there are other options available in the market.”

Better packages for teachers owing to competition: Teachers also stand to benefit, she said, be it existing teachers moving between older schools or fresh arrivals being absorbed into new schools. Besides the prospects of more attractive packages for teachers, owning to schools competing for them, Dubai has a unique offering – diversity. There are more than a dozen curriculums being taught here and people from around 200 nationalities call Dubai home.

“Teachers here get to teach different students – even 188 nationalities in a school – so that’s actually a good opportunity and experience for them. Of course, competition is also giving more opportunities for teachers to come to Dubai. The good news is that a lot of teachers, internationally, want to be employed in Dubai because they like the lifestyle here,” Al Beloushi added.

Diversity of investors flocking to Dubai: There is diversity also in the background of those wanting to open a school in Dubai. It is not only established education operators that are starting new schools; philanthropists and non-profit ventures are also contributing to the expansion.

“The door is open for everyone because we know there are investors who have the money and who really want to invest in a social enterprise. They don’t want to go for a hotel or a restaurant, for example; they want to give back to the community. You have big firms that have all those investments, but not in education, and they would like to be in education. And we guide them,” she said.

Al Beloushi added that though investors “need to have the track record”, it should mean more than “just having a school. Having a school is not a good track record; having a quality school is a good track record”.

Even entities with no prior experience in schooling would be accepted as long as they fulfil the requirements and have a partner or operator in good standing in education, she pointed out.

“You need to have a partner with a proven track record. If he or she does not know how a good school is run, they cannot operate a school. With all the competition, schools will really need to be ahead of the game.

“So it’s more about who’s doing the academic plan and who’s doing the education, but from an investment point of view, investors don’t really have to have an education background. We don’t have those prescriptions in place. It’s more about who is working with you on running the school, because that is important.”

Read more: http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/the-rise-and-rise-of-dubai-schools-1.2008236