How does the rent in Dubai compare with its rising school fees?

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) much awaited annual inspection results were released with several positive indicators.

The report cites that there are now 185 private schools in Dubai with a total of 273,599 students. There are 32,103 Emirati students and 15,099 students with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (Send).

For the first time, a majority of private schools now operate a level of provision for students with Send at 61 per cent, which suggests that schools are a good place for uniting the community.

Curriculum

Most schools with a UK curriculum were found to have an “Outstanding” or “Very Good” rating, while lying at the other end of the spectrum with more “Weak” rated schools are those offering Indian (CBSE) curriculum.

Moreover, KHDA findings suggest that “the majority of students attending Dubai private schools that have adopted a French, IB, UK, or Indian curriculum are in schools judged to be good, or better overall.”

Overall Findings

The KHDA report shows that in Dubai, a total of 16 schools are rated “Outstanding” (11 per cent), while 14 schools are rated “Very Good” (14 per cent).

The majority of 69 schools (39 per cent) are rated “Good”, followed by 50 schools (30 per cent) rated “Acceptable”. On the other hand, there are 10 schools in Dubai rated “Weak” (six per cent), with 15,565 students enrolled.

The recent report also shows that 64 per cent of students in Dubai now attend better schools, compared to 30 per cent of students in 2008 to 2009. Ten schools have improved their performance, while only four schools show a decline in performance.

School Fees in Top Areas

Edarabia’s own findings reveal that Jumeirah Village Circle, Nad Al Sheba, and Arabian Ranches are the top three areas where school fees are most expensive, with average fees up to Dh850,000 for all year groups.

Al Karama, Deira, and Al Qusais are the areas in Dubai with schools offering the lowest fees.

Correlation of school fees and rent

Average yearly rental data for 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments, and 3 and 4 bedroom villas, was collected for Q1 2017 from Bayut.com’s listings database. 17 areas were covered, spanning a wide range of popular Dubai residential neighbourhoods.

The lowest apartment rents are to be found in the new, “suburban” neighbourhoods of Dubai: JVC, Sports City, Dubai Investment Park and Green Community.

JVC is also home to some of the most affordable villas, after Mirdif and Al Rashidiya.

Conversely, the most expensive apartments and villas are to be found in the older, more central neighbourhoods – particularly Al Sufouh, Jumeirah, Nad al Sheba and Umm Suqeim.

Arabian Ranches, a sought-after, high-end development consisting solely of villas, is the exception to this rule.

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