Dubai to have 21 new private schools over next 15 months

DUBAI // Cutbacks in education allowances, low oil prices and slower economic growth have done little to sway the optimistic outlook of education providers, some of whom will be entering the market for the first time.

Esol Education, a Dubai-based company that owns and operates nine American schools in the Middle East and Asia, recently broke ground on the site of what will become its third in the country.

Its new Dh200 million school will be located near Al Barari and Living Legends developments in Dubailand and accommodate up to 1,500 pupils when it opens in September 2018.

It is one of 21 new schools that will open in Dubai in the next 15 months.

"When this opportunity came up, we jumped on it," said Bassam Abushakra, regional director for Esol Education.

"We’re looking at the next 20 years, not at the next two or three. If you buy the Dubai story, which we do, and the growth expected, the demand will be there."

This year, Dubai’s 185 private schools generated Dh6.8 billion in annual revenue from tuition fees as they catered to 273,599 students, 88 per cent of whom were expatriates.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the government agency that regulates private schools in Dubai, expects student enrolment to grow to 470,000 pupils over the next decade and predicts 120 new schools will open to meet the demand.

"We believe in the growth forecasts that the Dubai government has put out," said Mr Abushakra.

"So I think we’ll be fine, three, four years down the road."

The emirate has experienced an average annual enrolment growth of 6.6 per cent over the past 10 years and 72 new schools have opened since the 2007-08 academic year.

A growing population is likely to continue driving increased demand for schools in Dubai, as the country’s population of pupils from age five to 18 years is expected to rise from an estimated 1.113 million in 2015 to 1.236 million in 2020.

This means that an additional 123,000 children will need school places, said Roland Hancock, PwC director in the education sector, citing figures from the United Nations.

"We are witnessing a maturing of the market, with more schools of higher quality at a variety of price points," said Mr Hancock.

"Increasing supply will increase competition — a positive for parents who are looking for affordable high quality schooling that meets their requirements."

Bloom Education, which operates Brighton College schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, will expand its portfolio to Dubai with the opening of Brighton College Dubai and Dwight School, which will be built next to each other in a 90,000 square metre plot of land in Al Barsha South.

The two schools will have a combined capacity for 4,000 students. Brighton College Dubai will offer the British national curriculum, while Dwight School will deliver American and International Baccalaureate.

Henning Fries, chief executive officer at Bloom Education, said he is not concerned slower than expected economic growth. In February, the UAE Central Bank forecast the economy to grow at 2.3 per cent in 2017, slower than the projected 2.6 per cent in 2016.

He said pupil numbers at the company’s two schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain continues to grow year on year.

"We’re not really concerned about short term," said Mr Fries.

"Maybe sometimes you have in one year more competitors, or more and more schools opening at one time, and then next year it’s slightly different. So, if you look at this over the medium and long term, it’s not really an issue."

Mr Hancock said the increased competition will help weed out the poor quality schools.

"One perspective on the potential of ‘oversupply’ is that those schools least able to cater to parent demands of curriculum offering, quality and price will be forced to improve to remain financially viable," said Mr Hancock.

"The key to the success of this growth will be ensuring that these new schools cater to all types of parent in terms of curriculum, quality and price, and avoiding crowding at the top of the market."