Waiting lists at Dubai schools as population hits 3.65 million
▶ Gems Education invests heavily to boost capacity and meet demand from families arriving in UAE
Several Dubai schools have told of lengthy waiting lists facing prospective pupils ahead of a return to classrooms in the new year, amid a population boom.
Leading private education providers are expanding existing campuses and building new schools to meet the surge in demand from families drawn from across the globe seeking to lay down roots in the UAE.
Lisa Whyte, group head of admissions at Taaleem, said waiting lists of more than 100 pupils are common at its top-performing schools.
She said British learners make up the bulk of its enrolments, but admissions from China and Russia were on the rise.
Meanwhile, Zafar Raja, group chief operating officer at Gems Education, said that it started the current academic year with the highest number of pupils in its 64year history.
“Many of our 42 schools in the UAE are now either full, with waiting lists, or close to capacity,” said Mr Raja.
It was revealed in October that Dubai’s growing private school population had surged by a record-setting 39,000 in a single year.
Official statistics showed more than 365,000 pupils were studying in the emirate’s classrooms, up from 326,000 in November last year.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority – Dubai’s private education regulator – said the 12 per cent increase was the biggest since the authority was established in 2007.
Dubai has 220 private schools, offering 17 curriculums to pupils from more than 180 countries.
The emirate’s population crossed 3.5 million for the first time in April 2022, buoyed a post-pandemic resurgence in migration.
Its population now stands at 3.65 million, according to the latest daily figures from the Dubai Statistic Centre’s online population counter.
Population growth is a major goal for the emirate’s government with a target of 5.8 million people by 2040, with a major physical expansion for the city planned.
Education providers are already planning to meet the demands of such population growth, through building schools and teacher recruitment drives.
Private schools in Dubai have opened waiting lists for the new term beginning in January.
Owners are expanding capacity or opening new schools to meet demand as more families move to the UAE.
Zafar Raja, group chief operating officer at Gems Education, said that it started the academic year with the highest number of pupils in its 64-year history.
“Many of our 42 schools in the UAE are now either full, with waiting lists, or close to capacity,” said Mr Raja.
“We are making considerable investments to meet the growing demand.”
Gems Metropole School Al Waha opened in August, and Gems recently announced the launch of its first net-zero energy school, Gems Founders School Masdar City, in August 2024.
Gems is also adding capacity to some of its most in-demand schools, such as Jumeirah College, Gems Wesgreen International School Sharjah and Gems Founders School Al Mizhar.
Mr Raja said there were still spaces available at many of the schools in some year groups. He said the schools to open in the 2024-2025 academic year would be announced soon.
“This growth and our record enrolment numbers reflect the increasing demand for high quality education in the Emirates, fuelled by population growth, market conditions, a buoyant economy, and the enduring attractiveness of the UAE, with its high level of security, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial and enterprise-enabling environment,” said Mr Raja.
Lisa Whyte, group head of admissions at Taaleem, said: “Waiting lists of 100-plus can be found throughout the year groups in each Taaleem premium school. This is normal for Dubai British Schools and Jebel Ali School, but this is the first time we have multiple waiting lists across IB schools like Jumeira Baccalaureate School and Greenfield International School.”
She said lists were mainly in primary year groups, but there has also been an influx of secondary pupils.
“I think definitely more people are staying because our number of leavers who have left at the end of last year has gone down.
“Also, the demand is there because we have waiting lists now in schools that we didn’t have waiting lists for earlier.”
Ms Whyte said Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, Dubai British School Emirates Hills and Jebel Ali School have reported an increase in the number of pupils in Year 10 and Year 12, when GCSE and A level studies begin – evidence that more older pupils are going to Dubai. “At the end of the academic year is when we always get the highest number of families relocating and this year relocations showed that the number of relocating pupils had dropped,” said Ms Whyte.
“On average, we would see 10 to 12 per cent of the total enrolled relocate out of Dubai, but this year that was as low as 5 per cent for some schools, with the average across all premium schools at 8 per cent.
“Due to the large influx of new families entering the country over the summer, by the first week of school, all 10 Taaleem premium schools had achieved their budgeted target for enrolment in 2023-2024,” she said. Taaleem said it has more than 14,000 pupils across 10 premium schools.
Ms Whyte said British citizens made up the majority of pupils enrolled, followed by Indians, but there was a more diverse mix of nationalities now, with more Russian and Chinese pupils joining.
“These two (Britain and India) nationalities are still our biggest nationalities across the premium schools, but due to other nationalities coming into the country, the dynamics of the schools are different,” she said. “Chinese nationalities grew 28 per cent and Russian nationalities grew 24 per cent. Dutch and French both grew 18 per cent.”
Rashmi Nandkeolyar, headteacher at Delhi Private School Dubai, said there is not a single place available for more pupils at her school.
“During the coronavirus pandemic, in schools like ours, which are good value for money, suddenly there was a huge influx of enrolment,” said Ms Nandkeolyar.
“Because we had online classes, we could accommodate a few more pupils. Now, we are at full capacity and we don’t have a single spot available.”
We have multiple waiting lists across IB schools like Jumeira Baccalaureate and Greenfield International LISA WHYTE
Head of admissions at Taaleem