Dubai: A new Indian school, teaching the ICSE curriculum, is to open in Dubai in April 2013, bringing some relief to long admission waiting lists.

Phase one of the Union International Indian School (UIIS) will start kindergarten (KG) classes and grades one to five with a capacity of almost 2,000 students.

The school is being built in Dubai International Academic City and will be run by DPS Society, a non-profit education group operating the Delhi Private School in Dubai and Sharjah.

Tuition fees at UIIS will range from Dh21,000 for KG to Dh30,000 for grades five and higher, its website says.

Admissions are expected to open in ending January-staring February 2013. About 200 parents have already “registered, shown interest” on the school’s website (www.uiisdubai.com), said DPS Society Chairman Ashok Chandra.

In the following two academic years, UIIS is to reach full capacity — of 3,500 pupils from KG to grades nine and higher.

The 4-hectare school will have an amphitheatre, sports grounds, indoor multipurpose hall, covered pool, and nine science labs initially.

Once open, UIIS will bring the number of ICSE schools in Dubai to four.

“It’ll certainly ease the situation, the pressure [on Indian school admissions] will decrease. No single chain can take care of all the demand,” Chandra said.

ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) gives more emphasis on literature than the science-dominated CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), he added.

“Both curriculums are good, both ensure their affiliated schools are of a certain standard.”