Emiratis a Growing Population in Private Schools

Ever more Emirati parents are targeting private schools, according to statistics released by the Statistics Centre in Abu Dhabi, and quoted in UAE newspaper, The National, leading to fears public school education in the UAE could be being devalued.

The percentage of Emirati pupils in private education rose from 31.9 in the 2010-11 academic year to 34.7 per cent in 2013-14, according to the statistics centre. The figures mirror those published by the KHDA, which shows ever more Emirati students forsaking publics schools for private education.

Reasons include the desire for an international curriculum which eases entry into foreign universities, as well as a concern over the quality of education in the public sector - although experts are at pains to note private does not necessarily mean better - although it does definitely mean more expensive.

Dr Natasha Ridge, executive director of the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, speaking to The National said the trend could devalue the public education system.

“When you get a drain from public to private is that people start to be less invested in the public system... You will often see higher net worth individuals taking their families out of the public system, people who can afford to go to private schools, and often it can have the impact that public schools sort of become the domain of lower social economic groups,” she said.

The flip side of the trend is the effect on private schools in the UAE. WhichSchoolAdvisor.com surveys reveal parents really do care about the student mix in school populations. While parents see the value of a cosmopolitan environment, they often also choose schools where there is a dominant nationality that reflects the nationality of their child.

Schools too will carefully blend their demographics when they consider students for admissions - for age, gender and nationality, although are unlikely to discuss these issues, or the blend they seek in public.

The Statistics Centre also shows that while public schools are in decline - since 2011, in Abu Dhabi, 45 government schools have closed - higher education institutions in the UAE are showing positive growth, and attracting greater numbers of non-UAE students. Non-UAE nationals now account for almost one in four heads in tertiary level UAE institutions.

Enrolment in UAE based higher education institutions rose by 26.8 per cent to 50,754 students in 2012-13, compared with 40,031 in 2009-10. Emiratis accounted for 77.1 per cent of the total number, 63.1 per cent of which were women.