EdUAE - Issue 28 - Schools Out Issue 2026

Did You Know 25

World-Class Standards, Proven Results This growth is happening in a sector that is already performing at the highest level globally. Dubai’s private schools ranked in the top five in the world for Science and top ten for Maths in TIMSS 2023. The Education 33 strategy, which underpins everything being built towards 2033, places student wellbeing on equal footing with academic outcomes. Schools are expected to embed social and emotional learning, personalised pathways and life skills credentials alongside traditional qualifications. For parents, that means a system that is not just chasing grades but preparing children for a world that looks very different from the one we grew up in.

Affordability Is Finally on the Agenda One of the most significant shifts coming to Dubai’s education landscape is a genuine focus on making quality schooling more accessible. Of the 120,000 new seats needed in the affordable segment alone, KHDA’s Value Not Fee initiative is introducing reforms specifically to reduce average tuition in the lower fee brackets. For families who have felt priced out of their preferred schools, or who are watching fees rise year on year, this is a meaningful shift in direction. The goal is not just more schools, but more schools that work for more families.

At least 120,000 of the new seats needed by 2033 are in the affordable segment A new Value Not Fee reform is targeting tuition reduction in the lower fee brackets

A City That Is Growing With Your Family Dubai’s population reached 4 million in 2025 and is projected to reach 5.8 million by 2033. This is a city that is expanding rapidly, and its education infrastructure is being built to match. For families who are here long term, that matters. The school your child starts in today will exist within a very different landscape by the time they reach secondary age, one with more options, stronger standards and a clearer national vision for what education should deliver.

Engaged Community Educators and parents nurturing lifelong learning

Productive Emiratis empowered with quallity education

World-Class Destination for all learners

Education 33 our vision for the future

Innovative ecosystem

Equitable access designed around diverse learner wellbeing

creating impact and activating growth

Watch this space

This is just the beginning. In the Back to School issue of Education UAE, we go deeper into what Dubai’s education expansion means for families,

what to look for in a school and how to navigate a sector that is changing fast.

KHDA

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