Abu Dhabi Parents Choose US Curriculum

ADEC has announced that the highest growth in student enrollment is in the US curriculum, with a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent.

According to ADEC's newly released 'Private Schools and Quality Assurance Sector' annual report 2014/15, Since 2010, enrollment in US curriculum schools has grown by 14 percent in Abu Dhabi, 16 percent in Al Ain and 103 percent in al Gharbia.

Second choice for the Emirate's parents is the British curriculum with seven percent growth over the past five years.

According to the National, of the 14 curriculums available in Abu Dhabi, the US curriculum currently has the most students and holds the top spot with 53,481.

Ministry of Education private schools have the second highest student numbers with 51,463, while the British curriculum is third with 50,855 students in the Emirate and the Indian curriculum has 39,989 students.

The report also looked at the fee structure of Abu Dhabi schools, noting that the majority of US, British and IB curriculums fall into the premium price range, (Dhs20,000 to Dhs50,000).

Asian curriculums were 'affordable' to 'low,' priced at Dhs10,000 to Dhs19,000 per annum.

Interestingly, the report stated that 65 percent of pupils in the Emirate were in schools with fees considered to be 'low to 'very low.'

The report goes on to note that the Abu Dhabi school population is expected to grow by around 60,000 by 2020, taking the current student numbers from 223,803 to 283,798 by 2020-21 academic year.