(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Waiting lists to get admission in schools may soon become a thing of the past with education officials allowing more private schools to open doors in Dubai. A total of 11 new schools added more than 37,000 new seats last year, according to a new education landscape report by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
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Speaking with Khaleej Times, Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Director-General of the KHDA, said, "Reports of years-long waiting lists are coming to an end (as) Dubai's private schools sector has enough places to accommodate every student in Dubai."
A total of 26 new schools have opened over the last three years, helping build the emirate's private educational infrastructure.
"It is important that parents continue to have a choice of schools at all price points. We support interest from new and existing school operators catering to every segment of the community. KHDA's ForwardEd team is ready to provide information and guidance to all new operators in Dubai," Al Karam said.
Chances are you have a Mohammed or a Maryam studying in your class!
The verdict is out: Mohammed and Maryam are officially the most popular names given to kids in Dubai by their parents.
"Mohammed can be spelt in a variety of ways, so we've combined these and found that more than 15,000 boys in Dubai's private schools are named Mohammed. Similarly, around 2,700 girls are called Maryam," Dr Abdullah Al Karam told Khaleej Times.
Salman Waraich, a parent in Dubai - whose 2-year-old daughter is named Maryam - said the name is close to his heart for many reasons.
"Maryam means pure and it is mentioned in the Quran. Being a Muslim, there is nothing more special than having a word from the Quran as your name. I also believe a person's name has an effect on them," said Salman.
muaz@khaleejtimes.com
Dubai has a total of 169 private schools catering to 255,208 students. More than half these students study in Indian and British curriculum schools.
"The Dubai schools statistics infographic is released every year. It's one way of 'switching on the lights' to Dubai's education sector. When schools, parents, investors and policy-makers have a complete understanding of what the sector looks like, they are able to make better-informed decisions," he said.
School revenues
Schools recorded Dh5.35 billion in revenues last year, with the figure expected to rise this year as more schools open. The school inspection cycle has also allowed significant improvements in education quality, with a focus on measuring growth.
Universities and colleges reported a growth in enrollments with student numbers increasing by 19 per cent. A total of 24,312 students are enrolled in higher education institutions.
"Dubai's international higher education institutions have been experiencing steady growth in recent years, and this year's rate of 19 per cent is consistent with that growth. (In addition to) ... catering to a variety of students at different points in their careers, these universities offer an increasing range of programmes to choose from, all of which are quality-assured by the University Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB) and accredited by their home countries. Added to this, tertiary students in Dubai are attracted to its buoyant economy, and choose to study here for the future career opportunities they may enjoy."
"The waiting list at our school has increased almost two-fold compared to last year. Parents usually have their own preferences when it comes to choosing a school - especially when it comes to selecting a particular curriculum, school location and price," said Chitra Sharma, principal of JSS Private School, Al Safa.
Citing an example of admissions to Grade 11, she said the school had received more than 100 applications for 20 odd seats.
A total of 26 new schools have opened in the last three years, helping build the emirate's private educational infrastructure.
Nargish Khambatta, principal of GEMS Modern Academy, also explained the waiting lists haven't seen a decline yet.
"The number of applications usually goes up during particular periods of the year. Currently, we are reviewing applications every two weeks to evaluate and screen the students. We have seen a very high demand particularly for school seats in Grades 7, 8 and 9," said Khambatta.
The school uses a Cognitive Ability Test to measure students' reasoning abilities and select students.
In an earlier interview with Khaleej Times, Clive Pierrepont, director of communications at Taleem, said: "Our newer schools have availability in most years and grades. The more established schools have waiting lists, which vary depending on the number of applications. We formulate a realistic wait list to avoid giving people false hope. We give them a realistic picture of the seat availability. It is often difficult because you are coping with a demand that cannot easily be calculated or second guessed."
With 87 per cent capacity utilisation of Dubai's schools, the education regulators decision to allow more new schools is expected to reduce the supply-demand gap.
Clive added: "This academic year is a game changer where parents do have a choice because of new schools that have opened this year, many of which are giving incentives and discounts to sign up. Next year, 30,000 new school seats are expected to add capacity and we expect that there will more equilibrium in the market where the demand-supply gap shrinks".
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