Schools in Dubai: how the system works

The first question a family asks when moving to Dubai is not “which area” but “which school”. That is the right order. You can change flats within a month; you change schools reluctantly and at a cost. So the series starts with how the system is built, because without that neither the ratings nor the fees make much sense.

The UAE’s education system is young. The first state school opened in 1912, and in 1975 only 54% of boys and 31% of girls under fifteen could read and write. By 2023 both figures were above 99%. The country covered in half a century what took others a century and a half, and education remains one of the state’s declared priorities.

Schools fall into two worlds that barely overlap: public and private.

Public schools

For Emirati citizens they are free and follow the national curriculum of the Ministry of Education (MOE). Expat children have been admitted since 2001, on a fee-paying basis, and it costs noticeably less than a private school. Few families take that route, though, and the reasons are straightforward:

• the main language of instruction is Arabic, with English second;
• a large share of the timetable goes to Islamic education, history and culture;
• classes are mostly single-sex; mixed classes only began to appear in 2018.

For a family relocating for a few years, a public school is almost never the answer.

Private schools

This is where expat Dubai goes to school. As of 2023 the emirate had around 200 private schools with more than 326,000 pupils of 187 nationalities. The first of them, Dubai English Speaking School, opened in the 1960s in a British family’s villa: one room, ten pupils, and the wives of expatriate specialists as teachers. It is still running and still counts among the city’s best.

Private schools offer 17 curricula. The British curriculum holds about 65% of the market, followed by American, international (IB), Indian CBSE, French, Japanese, Canadian, Russian and others. The language of instruction depends on the curriculum and is most often English. Arabic is compulsory in every school without exception, and Muslim children also take Islamic studies; children of other faiths are not required to.

When a school describes itself as “British/IB”, it teaches the British curriculum and lets pupils choose the IB Diploma for the final two years. The differences are set out in British, American or IB.

Who inspects the schools

Public schools answer to the Ministry of Education. Dubai’s private sector is overseen by the KHDA, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority. It inspects every private school regularly, gives it one of five grades and publishes a detailed report. Among other things, that grade affects how far a school may raise its fees. How to read it is covered in KHDA school ratings.

What to know from the start

• Compulsory education starts at six, but private schools take children from three — and many families use that, because getting into a strong school at three is easier than at ten.
• Admission runs all year round and depends entirely on available places. At popular schools, places are taken a year ahead.
• ECAs are extracurricular activities before or after lessons, some free, some paid. The stronger the school, the longer and more interesting the list.
• The fee covers tuition only. Meals, the bus, uniform, some clubs and trips are paid for separately.

From here the series follows the order in which a family actually makes its decisions: how to read the rating, how to apply and which documents to gather, what it costs, which curriculum to choose, which schools to look at in each — and finally where to live so that the school run does not eat the morning. That last question is about property, and it is the one where we can help in practical terms.

The full “Schools in Dubai” series

• KHDA school ratings in Dubai: how to read them
• Getting into a Dubai school: the five steps
• School documents in the UAE: attestation and the transfer certificate
• Dubai school fees and how to pay less
• The school day in Dubai and the costs on top of fees
• The Dubai school year, holidays and starting age
• British, American or IB: choosing a curriculum in Dubai
• IB Diploma vs A-levels: what each gives a school leaver
• British schools in Dubai: twelve strong options
• American schools in Dubai
• IB schools in Dubai: seven international-curriculum schools
• Dubai school entrance assessments and the CAT4 test
• The Dubai school tour: what to ask and what to watch for
• A child with no English at a Dubai school
• School first, home second: where to live near a Dubai school