10 new schools to open in Dubai from September

Dubai: Ten new schools offering British, Indian, IB, French, Canadian and American curriculums are set to open across Dubai from September, it was announced on Saturday.

As well as varying curriculums, the schools will have different price points. Among the 10 new schools, the Newlands School in Al Warqa, which will follow the UK curriculum, will charge fees of between Dh19,200-Dh26,400 per year.

At the most expensive school on the list, the North London Collegiate School Dubai in Meydan City, which will follow the International Baccalaureate, fees will range from Dh83,000 to Dh130,000.

The emirate’s education regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), believes that the schools will help parents have more choices.

“That Dubai continues to attract high numbers of new schools and new residents speaks to the growth of our economy, and to the trust that parents and school operators have in the quality of education offered here.” said Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA Director-General.

The schools will offer “high-quality teaching and learning across a variety of locations, price points and curricula, and will help to meet the need for more school places in Dubai,” added Kalthoum Al Beloushi, the Executive Director of Education Development at KHDA.

The average rate of enrolment in Dubai’s private schools sector has increased by 6.6 per cent annually over the last 10 years. In total, 72 new schools have opened since 2007.

The KHDA data shows that new schools typically fill 60 per cent of places after four years of operation, and 80 per cent after seven years.

The news of the new schools could come as a relief for parents struggling with the prospect of higher fees.

Earlier this week, the KHDA, which has carried out inspections of 159 of 185 private schools across Dubai during this academic year, paved the way for some schools to raise tuition prices.

In Dubai, school fee increases are tied to the annual Education Cost Index (ECI) announced by Dubai Statistics Centre.

The latest index has been set at 2.4 per cent, with schools allowed to raise fees by up to double the index, depending on their rating.

Under the system, when the next school year kicks off in September, schools rated as ‘outstanding’ can raise fees by up to 4.8 per cent for that year.

‘Very good’ can increase fees by up to 4.2 per cent and ‘good’ by 3.6 per cent,

Schools rated as ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’, and ‘very weak’ are allowed a maximum 2.4 per cent increase.

Of the 159 schools inspected, 16 schools were rated ‘outstanding’, 14 ‘very good’, 69 ‘good’, 50 ‘acceptable’ and 10 ‘weak’. None were rated ‘very weak’.

The biggest hikes are expected to come from UK schools in Dubai as they make up 10 of the 16 ‘outstanding’ schools. Some of these UK schools also offer the IB curriculum.