The U.A.E. ranked first as the country with the highest number of international schools, dominating the region with 439, up from 433 in the first quarter of this year, said a report by the International School Consultancy Group.
According to the report expansion of international schools in the Gulf region continues, registering the second fastest growth rate in the world and now has 982 international schools in the region with a million students collectively paying US$6 billion in fees.
ISC's data show the U.A.E. ranked first as the country with the highest number of international schools, dominating the region with 439, up from 433 in the first quarter of this year. Saudi Arabia has 195 international schools and Qatar 130, although this is bound to increase as the country's Supreme Education Council (SEC) has just approved 26 new private schools out of the 90 applications it received.
ISC defines international schools as those that deliver a curriculum to any combination of infant, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country; what are known as English-medium international schools. Many of these schools offer an international curriculum.
Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia has 195 international schools, Qatar 130 and Kuwait now hosts 80 international schools, teaching close to 90,000 students; while Oman has 58 operational international schools, with a population of nearly 60,000 students.
The data was released as part of the latest research conducted by the International School Consultancy Group (ISC), a leader in delivering market intelligence on the global international schools market, with the full report to be presented at the forthcoming International Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF) in Dubai between September 23 and 25.
IPSEF, the only international business conference for private and international schools, addresses a wide range of issues concerning the private education market in the Middle East, and is held in partnership with Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) and The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA); it is also supported by Oxford University Press.
Source: AFP