Dubai private school report shows promising growth in 2012-13

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) unveiled the ‘Private Schools Landscape in Dubai (2012-2013)’ report, highlighting how “the student population has doubled over the past decade”.

According to the report, “In the 2012/13 academic year, 225,099 students enrolled in private schools in Dubai. This is an increase of 17,981 students from the previous academic year.”

The report focuses on how the private school sector has grown remarkably over the years, with 88.7 percentage of the total student population attending private schools.

Of this statistic, 30,044 students are Emirati. “This number has doubled over the last decade with an annual growth rate of 6.2%”.

In fact, more than half of the Emirati student population (56.6%) attend private schools, highlighting the growing trend of their preference for private school education over public schools.

The number of teachers has also grown since the last academic year by 8.7%, with the total teacher population standing at 14,333. “This is an increase of 8.7% from the previous year and is in line with the increase in student enrolments,” the report states. “The student-teacher ratio in Dubai’s private schools is 16 students for every teacher.”

“New and existing schools have shown they are able to keep up with the demand created by this growth.  That the majority of new teachers in Dubai’s schools were recruited from abroad proves that Dubai continues to be a highly sought-after destination for talented educators worldwide,” highlighted Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors, KHDA.

Since KHDA’s establishment in 2007, “30 new schools have opened, including six in 2012-13”. This records the total number of Dubai private schools at 153, offering 15 types of curricula.

Interestingly, the year also registered 177 different nationalities attending Dubai schools.

The report emphasizes that the number of students at UK curriculum schools is the highest, with 70,860 students or 31.5% of all private school enrolments. The Indian and the US curriculum is the other favoured among the Dubai expat community.

Produced annually by KHDA, the report is formulated in coordination with the Dubai Statistics Centre and private schools in Dubai, and contains data to ensure transparency and highlight the growth in the education sector.

(Table as published in the KHDA report)

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