According to Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the new schools will add more than 16,000 new places to the private school sector at various fee points.

Director General of KHDA, Aisha Miran, said: “The growth in Dubai’s private education landscape reflects the emirate’s commitment to providing high quality, diverse educational options for learners at all stages.

“We are committed to strengthening Dubai’s reputation as a leading destination for high-quality education and remain dedicated to supporting the needs of our students, educators and families.”

The growth in Dubai’s private education landscape reflects the emirate’s commitment to providing high quality, diverse educational options for learners at all stages.

Aisha Miran, KHDA

Dubai currently has 220 private schools, 274 early childhood centres and 38 higher education institutions. All three sectors saw record enrolment growth during the last academic year, according to the KHDA.

The new school openings include five British curriculum schools and one French.

These are:

• Dubai British School Jumeireh
• GEMS Founders School Dubai South
• New Dawn Private School in Muhaisnah
• Hampton Heights International School in Twar
• Springfield International School in Al Aweer
• Lycée Francais Jean Mermoz South in Al Barsha South

Additionally, the higher education segment is also expanding, with four new institutions set to open. Three of these – SKEMA Business School from France, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and Symbiosis International University from India – will offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The fourth, Neohorizon School of Business, which is a partnership between the UAE and China, will offer a dedicated master’s degree in business.

An additional 29 new early years centres are also due to open, in addition to seven that opened this summer.

The international school market in the Middle East is seeing something of a boom.

Panellists at a conference in London earlier this year were advised to look beyond Riyadh when choosing locations to expand in Saudi Arabia.

And at a separate event, Dubai was hailed as an emerging market for the ELT sector – largely due to its friendly visa policy.