What are charity schools?

Charity schools in the UAE are some of the oldest schools in the country that cost parents about Dh1,000 to Dh7,000 each year.

The National Charity Schools have been operating in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman since 1983.

These schools have more than 1,000 students enrolled, however, they only can accommodate 700-1,000 students. To accommodate more students, these schools introduced morning and evening classes.

Tahani Alhaji, the secretary at the Al Ahlia Charity School in Ajman, told Khaleej Times: “We have nearly 2,400 students, but we are overcrowded now. We have more than 2,000 students on the waiting list and each year that number gets higher.

“These are students who have come from Syria or Yemen. They came from countries that had a lot of problems and they usually look for schools like ours because it’s a charity school.”

Ajman’s National Charity School principal Hussan Khatib has previously said that his school also had more than 2,000 people on its waiting list.