Sunday, Aug 12, 2012
Dubai: With the new Academic year starting next month the Knowledge and Human Development Authority has approved four new schools and allowed expansion of an existing school, creating 5,500 new seats.
The new schools take the number of private schools in Dubai to over 150 while the total number of students in private schools exceeds 200,000.
With more schools opening every year, student population in Dubai have increased by 7 per cent over the last five years and according to KHDA officials it is likely to grow faster in the next few years.
“For the third year running, capacity in schools has increased by an average of 4500 places per year, which has given parents greater flexibility in choosing a school for their children. Our private education sector is robust and growing, and there is great demand for more schools to open,” said Mohammad Darwish, Chief of KHDA’s Regulations and Compliance Commission.
When asked what are the aspects KHDA looks at before approving a new school, Darwish said: “Potential investors have to study our Academic plan guide and apply to KHDA in a proper format with all the details of the facilities, curriculum, building plans, drawings, location etc.”
If the plan supplied by the managements fits with the KHDA standards than the applicants get a go ahead after which the authority manage the progress at every stage before giving a final approval once the facility is ready.
Encouraging investment in the private education sector KHDA, has formulated an academic plan guide for potential operators. As well as explaining the key criteria KHDA assesses when granting new education permits, the guide also provides information on the evaluation process and how KHDA will come to its decision.
Two of the new schools, Ambassador Kindergarten and The Indian Academy, opened in April 2012 with the beginning of Indian academic calendar while the other two will open in September with the rest of the private schools.
Ambassador Kindergarten follows the Italian Reggio Emilia syllabus and is open up to the KG level while The Indian Academy which follows ICSE curriculum is open up to high school.
The other two schools includes The International School of Choueifat’s second branch in Dubai opening up at the Green Community, while Dubai Women’s High School is opening up in Al Ghusais.
The schools follow different curricula and cater to various age levels, with the Choueifat having up to primary level and the Dubai Women’s High School up to high school level.
The four schools, along with another undisclosed school which is expanding, will add 5,500 student seats this year.
Talking about the growing number of private schools and competition it brings Darwish said:
“KHDA always welcomes applications from high quality school operators, those who share KHDA’s passion for world class education and add value to the educational landscape. As the KHDA vets the many applications for educational provision in the emirate, especially for schools), the time seems ripe for investment opportunities in the education sector.”
The four new schools opening this academic year will add to the 24 schools and 39,000 student places that have been created since KHDA was established in 2007. There are more than 207,000 students currently enrolled in Dubai’s private schools.
In the academic year 2010-11 two new schools opened - Global Indian International School (April 2010) and Jumeira Baccalaureate School (September 2010).In the academic year 2011-12 five new schools were opened.
By Shafaat Shahbandari Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
