First Results: Improvements in UAE Schools, Survey

The ongoing WhichSchoolAdvisor.com survey is revealing improvements to the UAE schooling landscape with an increasing number of respondents willing to recommend their school to other parents, and a fall in the numbers believing UAE schools represent bad value.

The 2015 School Survey, which remains open for a limited period for those who want their say on schooling in the UAE, is currently showing a 4% jump in those who would recommend their school - up from 62.2% to 66.72%.

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The number who would not recommend their school is now 17.2%, down from 20.9% when the full survey was last conducted in 2013.

Over the course of the last 12 months a slew of new schools have opened across the UAE which have greatly expanded the choices for parents. While the investment in new schools has been uneven in terms of curricula offered and price point, last year over 20,000 new places became available in 11 new schools. A further six new schools are expected to open in Dubai alone this year.

Also moving those figures will be improvements being made to existing schools.

While the number of Outstanding schools in Dubai remained static last year, the numbers in those schools is growing - 21,710 students now study in what are deemed to be Outstanding schools in Dubai, a 6% increase on the 20,435 said to be so in 2012/13. Perhaps even more significantly, 42% of students now study in schools rated Good by the KHDA, up from 38% in 2011/12. Similar improvements are being made in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

While fees remain a key concern among parents, there is evidence that schools are doing a better job at communicating where the money is going at least.

In 2013, 29% of respondents strongly opposed the statement fees represented good value when compared against the quality of the school. So far, the 2015 survey suggests a marked improvement, with that figure falling to 23%.

"We should note that does not mean parents can afford the fees they are being asked to pay, but it does mean an increasing number of those invested in UAE education - parents, teachers and students themselves - believe the money is flowing to the right places", commented James Mullan, one of the co-founders of WhichSchoolAdvisor.com.