US education group forays into UAE, plans 20 nurseries and schools

In order to cash in on the shortage of nurseries and preschools, the US-based international chain of preschools and kindergartens Safari Kid has forayed into the UAE and plans to open five more centres by 2017 and 10-15 schools across the Emirates, said a senior official.

“With the growth in the UAE and as it gears towards 2020, we feel that the growing population will have an ever-increasing demand for early childhood education. Our future expansion plans for UAE include opening five more centres by 2017, and it’s acting as a hub for our growth in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. Our view is that UAE itself could potentially be a 10-15 school market for us in the next 5 years,” said Umair Tariq, Managing Director for Safari Kid in Middle East and Africa.

The group has ventured in to the UAE with the opening of its flagship nursery in Dubai spread over 15,000 sqft.

Shy Mudakavi, Founder and CEO of Safari Kid, said: “It’s the right time to enter UAE and meet the growing demand for early learning institutions. Education ideally starts from a very young age and, in the UAE, many children make their first foray into it by attending a nursery. The huge demand for these institutions has led to a tremendous increase in their numbers, however there is always room for quality institutions. UAE's rise as a commercial hub attracts families across countries and cultures, and one of the key areas of planning is quality education for their kids before enrolling in school.”

Since its inception in 2005, Safari Kid launched centres in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India with its programs catering to children between the ages of 4 months and 4 years.

Tariq said the group is actively looking at Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other Emirates for new pre-school education centres.

Tariq said: “We are fully hired for our first centre which has just opened. The key element for us is to always maintain the requisite teacher-child ratio in our classes and schools and we shall keep on hiring to maintain that in this and other centres. We are always on the lookout for talent and develop them for the long term across our network for which we look at hiring both locally and working with many recruitment companies around the world who specialise in the early year education space.”

Commenting on competition in early education segment in the UAE, Tariq said for someone looking at the space right now, it may seem that it is getting quite crowded, however, there is competition and their competition for quality.

“It is highly important for parents also to differentiate when choosing the correct pre-school for their children and should choose nurseries which are there for the long-term and are constantly developing and evolving to meet the needs of their children.”

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