Dubai to open new ‘high quality’ schools for Emiratis in 2020

Dubai: Dubai is set to open new schools for Emiratis in 2020 providing “high quality” international education with a focus on Arabic, Islamic studies and local culture, The Executive Council of Dubai (TEC) announced on Monday.

In an advertisement, TEC said it is inviting private sector school operators to manage “a number of schools” from next academic year based on a ‘Public Private Partnership’ model.

The advertisement invited school operators to submit an ‘Expression of Interest’ to prequalify bidders for further stages of the selection process for the ‘Dubai Schools’ project.

Charter schools

The announcement follows the launch of a dozen “charter schools” for Emiratis in Abu Dhabi emirate, offering a “third educational model” (the first two models being public and private education). These institutions are government-owned, but will be run by three leading educational providers – Aldar Education, Bloom Education and Taaleem.

The charter schools, which have in total created more than 15,000 seats, will educate enrolled Emirati pupils at the kindergarten and elementary levels under an American curriculum. Nine of the schools are located in Abu Dhabi.

Quality education

In Dubai, most Emirati students attend private schools – none in schools rated ‘weak’ by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

Seventy per cent of Emiratis are receiving a good quality education in Dubai, the KHDA said earlier this year.

Also, the ‘Mohammad Bin Rashid Programme for Distinguished Students’ aims to provide a number of outstanding Emirati students with the opportunity to join the best private schools in Dubai rated ‘good’ or above.

This is carried out in cooperation with KHDA’s partners in the public and private sectors.

In April, it was announced that over 100 outstanding Emirati pupils would receive scholarships under the latest edition of the programme, which has benefited more than 300 pupils since its launch in 2017.