Today's Edition
Mays Ibrahim (ABU DHABI)
Dubai’s private school sector has doubled in size since the establishment of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in 2007, a recent report revealed.
A total of 365,572 students attended Dubai’s private schools in academic year 2023/24, which is more than double the 156,504 students enrolled in the 2007/08 academic year. Student enrolment figures in 2023/24 grew by a record 12% compared to the previous academic year, according to the KHDA report, titled “Growth and Quality in Dubai Private Schools 2023/24”.
Quality Education
The report also pointed towards a significant improvement in the quality of education offered by private schools in Dubai since KHDA’s establishment. It showed that the number of students receiving education rated as “good” in Dubai has “more than doubled” since the first education cycle, increasing from 30% of students in 2008/09 to 77% of students in 2022/23.
Moreover, Dubai private schools ranked 6th in the world in reading and literacy skills by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), up from 33rd in 2011.
Five New Schools Opened
The number of schools in Dubai since 2007/08 increased from 136 to 220, with the opening of five new schools in the year 2023/24, the KHDA report stated.
Dubai is currently home to 220 private schools with 24,955 teachers, offering 17 curricula to students representing 185 different nationalities, including 33,094 Emiratis and 17,257 students of determination, it added.
The report shows that these schools are distributed in various locations across the Emirate of Dubai, including Jebel Ali (13), Jumeirah (22), Dubailand (13), Zaabeel (13), Deira (53), Bur Dubai (18), Mushrif (41), Ras Al Khor (9), and Hadaeq Mohammed Bin Rashid (50).
