Education Market Report 2019-2020

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FOREWORD A key element of the UAE’s National Agenda 2021 is transitioning to a knowledgebased economy powered by innovation, creativity and the development of economically diversified sectors. At the heart of this agenda lies the education sector with the aim to instil an entrepreneurial culture in schools and universities from the very beginning to drive future economic growth.

Our maiden report on the sector explores Dubai’s education market which has a high expatriate population, triggering the need for quality education that is suited to a varied audience. Among other themes, the report provides an overview on tuition fees, curriculum, teacher profiles and existing and upcoming schools.

CONTENTS 4

Dubai Education Spending

6

Schools And Enrolments

8

Curriculum

10

Tuition Fees

12

Teacher And Student Profile

14

Existing And Upcoming Supply

16

E-learning

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DUBAI EDUCATION SPENDING In December 2019, Dubai approved its biggest-ever spending programme. For 2020, a budget of AED 66.4 billion was approved with social development spending accounting for over 30% of Dubai’s total expenditure. Education forms an integral part of the social development sector alongside health, housing and women and children’s care.

Apart from social and economic development, factors which are working to the benefit of Dubai’s education sector include the government’s goals and resulting reforms to attract foreign investment into the economy and enabling businesses to easily set up shop. For many foreign investors, Dubai’s education sector is an attractive proposition given its growing population, high income brackets and demand for quality education. Reputed international institutions have already begun to establish regional branches to cater to this demand.

DUBAI GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE BY SECTOR 2020

31%

3% Special reserve

Social development spending (including education)

12% Infrastructure projects

24% Grant and support expediture

4

AED 66.4 BILLION

30% Salary wage allowances

EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

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SCHOOLS AND ENROLMENTS According to Dubai Statistics Centre, between 2014 and 2018, the total population of Dubai increased from 2.3 million to 3.2 million at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.2%. As of 2018, Dubai’s population consisted of 92% expatriates who largely demonstrated a preference for private schools. Previous studies have shown a similar preference among Emirati parents, with a majority choosing private education over public schools despite the latter offering Emiratis free education.

The population growth between 2014 and 2018 led to a corresponding increase in the number of private schools from 169 to 209, registering a CAGR of 5.5%. During the same period, the number of public schools decreased from 78 to 71 schools with a negative CAGR of 2.3%.

As a result, private schools’ enrolments increased at a CAGR of 3.2% whilst enrolments in public schools trailed with only a slight increase, recording CAGR of 0.1%.

6

EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS BY SECTOR IN DUBAI 2014/15–2018/19

4-year CAGR: -2.3%

250

4-year CAGR: 5.5% 209

200

173

169

194

185

150 100

79

78

75

71

71

50 0 2014/15

2015/16

2016/17 Public

2017/18

2018/19

Private

NUMBER OF STUDENTS BY SECTOR IN DUBAI 2014/15–2018/19 4-year CAGR: 0.1%

4-year CAGR: 3.2%

300,000 255,208

289,195

281,432

273,599

265,299

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0

29,273

2014 /15

29,437

2015/16

29,597

29,673

2016/17 Public

29,387

2017/18

2018/19

Private

Source: Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Ministry of Education, Cavendish Maxwell

SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN DUBAI 2019/20

208

SCHOOLS

295,148 STUDENTS

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CURRICULUM Factors such as a growing expat population, high proportion of wealth and income levels, and demand for quality English-medium education from expats and locals has led to the proliferation of private schools offering international curriculum.

As of 2019/2020, there are 208 private schools in Dubai with 295,148 students enroled compared to 169 schools with 255,208 students in 2014/15, recording a CAGR of 4.2% and 3%, respectively.

During the same period, schools offering UK curriculum accounted for 41% (85 schools) of the total number, followed by American curriculum with 18% (38 schools) and Indian curriculum with 16% (34 schools).

8

EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

NUMBER OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS

BY CURRICULUM IN DUBAI 2019/2020 Ministry of Education (MOE)

From all the curriculums offered, UK curriculum displayed the strongest growth, with total enrolments between 2014/2015 and 2019/2020 registering a 5-year CAGR of 7%. During this period, enrolments increased from 78,254 pupils to 109,894 pupils.

6% International Baccalaureate (IB) 8%

UK 41%

Others 11%

The IB curriculum enrolments followed UK with a CAGR of 5.7%, growing from 13,686 pupils to 18,015 pupils.

American 18%

Indian 16%

120,000

109,894

NUMBER OF ENROLMENTS

BY CURRICULUM IN DUBAI 2014/15–2019/20

49,251

60,000

46,528

78,981

79,151

80,000

78,254

100,000

5,077

6,449

6,878

6,230

11,501

11,152

14,951

14,358

20,000

13,686

18,015

40,000

0 7%

0%

1.1%

5.7%

-0.8%

-0.6%

2%

4.9%

UK

Indian

American

IB

MOE

Other

SABIS*

French

2019/20

2014/15

5-year CAGR

*Semi Automatic Bibliographic Information System Source: KHDA, MOE, Cavendish Maxwell

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

TUITION FEES Tuition fees charged by private schools in Dubai vary significantly depending on the brand, curriculum, location and facilities offered by the schools. Fees exclude other charges such as uniforms, transportation, and use of other facilities.

During the academic year 2019/20, tuition fee at the primary level ranged between AED 2,892 per annum and AED 102,000 per annum. For the intermediate level, the minimum tuition fee was AED 3,029 per annum and maximum fee was AED 118,000 per annum. For secondary level during the same academic year, the fee ranged from AED 3,442 per annum to AED 130,000 per annum. According to data from KHDA, in Dubai, IB and UK curriculums were the most expensive.

According to the Education Landscape Report by KHDA, private schools in Dubai earned AED 8.5 billion in annual revenues from tuition fees in 2019/20, higher than previous years.

With an aim to maintain affordability of education in the emirates, the KHDA has said that private schools in Dubai will not be eligible for a hike in tuition fees for the 2020/21 year. The announcement earlier this year followed the release of the annual Education Cost Index (ECI), calculated by the Dubai Statistics Centre at -2.35%. The ECI is based on statistical indicators that are in accordance with international standards.

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

12,500

30,643

23,036

35,000

12,500

20,000

2,892

8,826

40,000

46,000

60,000

26,968

44,000

80,000

86,260

100,000 62,119

Annual tuition fee (AED)

120,000

91,000

102,000

PRIMARY OR ELEMENTARY LEVEL/CYCLE1 FEE RANGE IN DUBAI 2019/20

0 IB

UK

American

French

Indian

SABIS*

MOE

Maximum

Minimum

15,101

36,638

27,224

12,500

20,000

3,029

8,826

40,000

37,000

60,000

35,175

80,000

55,000

100,000

50,000

90,000

120,000

44,016

Annual tuition fee (AED)

140,000

102,000

118,000

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL/CYCLE 2 FEE RANGE IN DUBAI 2019/20

0 IB

UK

American

French

Indian

SABIS*

MOE

Maximum

Minimum

18,298

16,167

42,298

45,359

3,442

20,000

32,460

17,601

40,000

56,936

60,000

43,375

80,000

89,000

100,000

107,000

120,000

56,022

Annual tuition fee (AED)

140,000

101,515

130,000

SECONDARY LEVEL/CYCLE 3 FEE RANGE IN DUBAI 2019/20

0 IB

UK

American Minimum

French

SABIS*

Indian

MOE

Maximum

*Semi Automatic Bibliographic Information System

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

TEACHER AND STUDENT PROFILE During the academic year 2019/20, private schools had a total of 20,752 teachers, recording year-on-year growth of 3.8%. This increase came on the back of the increasing number of schools and student enrolments.

81%

Teachers from India, UK and Egypt made up a majority of private school teachers. However, Emiratis constitute less than 1% of the total number of teachers in Dubai’s private schools. Their participation in the education sector remains muted as they instead opt for more lucrative and favourable employment opportunities elsewhere.

TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS IN 2019/20:

20,752

The participation of male teachers at 19% is also low compared to females, who make up 81% of the total number of private school teachers.

19%

The average student/teacher ratio (STR) for all private schools in Dubai was 14.5 students per teacher. According to the World Bank, the global average STR for primary schools is 23 students per teacher whilst for secondary schools it is 17 students per teacher. With a lower STR, Dubai’s private schools therefore ensure improved focus per student compared to the average school elsewhere in the world.

MALE

FEMALE

3,900

16,852

The average STR tends to vary across schools based on the quality ratings, curriculum and tuition fees. The higher the quality of the schools. the lower is the average STR.

PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS IN DUBAI BY NATIONALITY AND GENDER 2014/15 Emirati Male Teachers

2015/16

2016/17

2

2017/18

2018/19

CAGR

3

5

25.7%

Emirati Female Teachers

31

21

24

22

24

-6.2%

Expatriate Male Teachers

3,298

3,586

3,810

3,761

3,822

3.8%

Expatriate Female Teachers

13,200

14,035

15,044

15,878

16,142

5.2%

Total Teachers

16,531

17,621

18,854

19,642

19,993

4.9%

7%

7%

7%

4%

2%

255,208

265,299

273,599

281,432

289,195

5%

4%

3%

3%

3%

15.4

15.1

14.5

14.3

14.5

Growth in Teachers Students Growth in Students Student/Teacher Ratio (STR)

12

3.2%

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

TOP TEN NATIONALITIES OF PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS IN DUBAI 2019/20 6,000 5,394 5,000

4,000

3,692

3,000

1,928

2,000

1,061

1,033

1,000

961

855

804

774

569

Jordan

Syria

Lebanon

USA

0 India

UK

Egypt

Philippines

Ireland

Pakistan

Source: KHDA, Ministry of Education, Cavendish Maxwell

Meanwhile, during the same year, Dubai’s private schools provided education services to students belonging to 173 nationalities. Of these, Indian students comprised the highest share at 98,521 pupils, followed by UAE (34,452), Pakistan (22,688), Egypt (17,238) and UK (13,594) students.

TOP FIVE STUDENT NATIONALITIES IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN DUBAI 2019/20 120,000 100,000

98,521

80,000 60,000 40,000

34,452 22,688 17,238

20,000

13,594

0 India

UAE

Pakistan

Egypt

UK

Source: KHDA, Ministry of Education, Cavendish Maxwell

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

EXISTING AND UPCOMING SUPPLY Between the academic years 2014/15 and 2019/20, 51 new schools opened in Dubai whilst 12 schools ceased operations.

NUMBER OF NEW AND CLOSED SCHOOLS IN DUBAI 2015–2019 18

Looking at a slightly longer period of the last seven years, 72 new schools opened in Dubai. During this time over 70,000 additional students enroled into schools, a 31% increase in the number of students who attend private schools.

16

16

15

14 12

11

10 8 6

6

4 2

2

3

3

2

1

0 2015

2016 New schools

UPCOMING SUPPLY

Primary School of Research Science Al Warqa’a Fourth June 2020

Al Satwa School Building Al Satwa August 2021

Vernus International School Nass Hessa, Dubai Silicon Oasis April 2020

Private School (Plot 673-1193) Al Barsha South Third October 2020

Senior School by Al Shirawi (Plot no: JVT08SCB002) Jumeirah Village Triangle April 2020

The Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai Duba‫نسيكبنتمم‬iland September 2021

Arcadia Secondary School Jumeirah Village Triangle March 2020

Al Furjan: Primary and Secondary School Al Furjan April 2020

14

2017

4

2018

Closed schools

2019

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

E-LEARNING

Keeping with Dubai’s goal to become the smartest city in the world, its education sector is also being transformed to make the city the destination of choice for education opportunities. This naturally has implications not just for real estate requirements in the education sector but also technology and infrastructure needs to make these facilities a reality.

A landmark initiative, in addition to other smart learning portals by the MOE, was the Madrasa e-learning platform, launched in 2018 under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives. The platform, the biggest in Arab e-learning, provides more than 5,000 free videos in various subjects to over 50 million students from kindergarten to grade 12. Madrasa has conducted over 35 teacher workshops enabling more than 1,350 teachers and educators to utilise the innovative online platform in classrooms.

In March 2019, Dubai announced the construction of a new generation of schools in the UAE at a cost of AED 1.5 billion.

These schools would include laboratories for machine learning and artificial intelligence to focus on not only the type of content taught but also the method of teaching, allowing for a holistic learning experience.

In another effort, in January this year, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) launched the ‘Digital Knowledge Hub’, a comprehensive online platform to facilitate self-education and promote development through more than 2.5 million items of digital content and 250,000 titles in several languages.

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EDUCATION MARKET REPORT

E-learning in the time of COVID-19

Public sector measures

The strides made by the UAE education system in implementing e-learning initiatives will be particularly beneficial during the current challenging times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a successful pilot programme, the MOE announced the launch of its ‘Learning from Afar’ distance learning programme for students for the full duration of the closure.

Schools have closed and extra-curricular activities have been suspended since March in the UAE to curb the spread of the virus.

However, the government has been swift in activating e-learning programmes for schools to ensure the uninterrupted flow of education.

To ensure that teachers too were ready for this transition, the ministry, in cooperation with Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University extended a free e-training course to more than 42,000 teachers and academic staff. The “How to be an online tutor in 24 hours” course was designed to teach the skills required to manage classrooms remotely and utilise other digital teaching tools.

By moving up the spring break, originally due to begin in end March, the UAE ensured that the holiday period was effectively utilised to make institutions ready for the temporary e-learning migration. As a result, on the first day back to learning on March 22, over 1.2 million school and university students across the country joined their virtual classrooms. As of the date of publication of this report, e-learning will continue till June 2020, which is the end of the school term for most curriculums.

To ensure every student has equal access to the distance learning initiative, the ministry and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) together agreed that telecom operators Du and Etisalat would provide free internet data via mobile phones to families who didn’t have home internet services.

Private sector measures Similar to the public sector schools, the ministry directed private school operators to execute the distance learning strategy by implementing their own platforms. The KHDA launched its new distance learning platform #InThisTogetherDubai. Under this initiative, private organisations provided apps, websites, services and other resources to parents, students and teachers free of charge.

Meanwhile, some private educators in Dubai implemented their own distance learning systems or expanded their existing e-learning tools.

These included the use of collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom and ClassDojo.

For those families who chose to implement home-schooling as a practice, a recognised practice by the KHDA, options available included online schools like iCademy Middle East and e-learning resources like Khan Academy and Clonlara.

The ministry also extended its training to 9,200 teachers and principals of private schools to better manage the new educational process.

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Aditi Gouri Associate Partner Strategic Consulting and Research

DUBAI

ABU DHABI

SHARJAH

MUSCAT

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