UAE Vision 2021 taking shape as school admissions surge

An increase in expatriates relocating to the UAE, coupled with more Emirati children attending international schools, is fuelling exponential growth

Dubai, UAE: Competition for admissions in Dubai’s international schools continues to intensify – perhaps more than ever before – with an increasing number of national families choosing to enroll their children in British and American curriculums.

The Middle East’s international school sector continues to experience significant growth, with the UAE leading the region on the back of its Vision 2021. The government-launched initiative aims to transform the education sector, making the UAE among the leading countries in the world by the year 2021.

With well over 400 international schools, a strong foundation is already in place. And with no restrictions on the enrolment of Emirati students in the UAE, many international schools are seeing a heightened demand for places.

One such institution is Nibras International School (NIS), Dubai Investment Park’s premier American curriculum school for students from KG1 to Grade 12. The school has shown a significant year-on-year increase since adopting the Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) curriculum – recognized as a top five-rated state curriculum in providing U.S. Ivy League undergraduates – in 2011.

Karen Robinson, Acting-Principal at NIS, explained: “There is no doubt that enhanced competition for places creates stability and raises standards. According to KHDA figures, 11 new private schools opened in Dubai in 2014, bringing the total to 169.”

“This has helped provide an additional 23,000 places, with more than 243,000 students already enrolled in private schools for the 2014/15 academic year,” continued Robinson.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the body that regulates private schools in Dubai, recently confirmed there will be over 350,000 school places available by 2020 – giving families relocating to the UAE even greater options for their children.