Administrators: 4 reasons why there are still vacancies

Private schools in Abu Dhabi attract students with discounts of up to 30%

The publicly funded partnership schools attracted a large number of citizen students.

From the source

"Registration is now open from kindergarten to 12th grade. Register your children now to get discounts of up to 30% of the fees for the academic year 2021-2022, in addition to discounts on transportation fees", an advertisement that is repeated daily on social media, and educational groups on social media Social media, in addition to text messages and e-mail with the difference in the name of the school only, while teachers and administrators identified four main reasons for the continued presence of vacant seats in private schools in Abu Dhabi.

In detail, "Emirates Today" monitored advertisements funded for private schools in Abu Dhabi, on the social networking sites "Facebook" and "Twitter", stating the availability of vacant seats and the continued registration of students in different classes. The ads included discounts upon registration, additional discounts for siblings, and discounts for outstanding students. , In addition to special discounts for students transferring from other schools, while families of students received dozens of letters inviting them to register.

The list of private school fees issued by the Department of Education and Knowledge showed that most private schools looking for students have tuition fees of more than 30,000 dirhams, and discounts rates have increased in new schools that have not been opened more than three years ago, as their classes have not been completed since Its opening.

The relatives of students: Moataz Sameh, Sayed Saeed, and Noha Alaa, confirmed that they receive messages from private schools on a daily basis, some of which arrive after midnight inviting them to set a date to visit the school and meet its administration, noting that their children are already registered in private schools and do not know how the schools reached Their phone numbers where they have not previously applied for registration.

While parents of children in nurseries indicated that administrators in private schools communicate with them through the nurseries in which their children are registered, knowing that they will reach the age of registration in kindergartens for the next year, and encouraging them to visit schools, in addition to leaving advertisements inside the nurseries to introduce parents of children to the school and inviting them to visit and get acquainted. To its facilities, its education system, and the teaching staff.

On the other hand, administrators and teachers identified four reasons for the vacant seats in private schools for the third year in a row, including the increase in the number of schools during the last five years, as the supply became greater than the demand, and the increase in the admission age for students in kindergartens for the next year, which reduced the number of students. And the Corona pandemic and the consequent decline in enrollment in kindergartens, in addition to families transferring their children to government or private schools at low fees, in addition to the entry of a new competitor in the educational market, “partnership schools”, and the desire of citizen families to register in it to present the American curriculum. Free for students.

Administrators and teachers, Muhammad Khaled, Reem Awad and Bushra Abdullah, indicated that the continued issuance of open registration announcements for school facades is due to the increase in the capacity of private schools over the number of students in the emirate, as the number of private schools reached 205 private schools, pointing out that this matter is A healthy phenomenon that allows students to have multiple options and helps them register their children in better schools on the level of education, in addition to that competition pushes schools to improve their educational outcomes, and not to exaggerate their tuition fees, which has created advertisements for discounts on fees during the past three years, which It did not exist before.

They pointed out that the continuation of the Corona pandemic and its impact on the form of the educational model has contributed to the reluctance of parents to enroll their children in kindergartens, fearing that they may be infected with the "Covid-19" virus, in addition to raising the age of admission for students by four months, so that the minimum is calculated. Completing the approved enrollment age on August 31 instead of December 31 has contributed to the decline in the number of students eligible to enroll in kindergarten classes.

While the directors of private schools, who requested anonymity, explained that the introduction of a third educational system for students in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by opening publicly funded schools run by private companies to teach the American curriculum to citizen students, "partnership schools", contributed to attracting a percentage of private school students to it, especially. After the opening of 15 Shrakat schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, it became a strong competitor for the private schools in its vicinity.

They indicated that new schools, whether those with vacant government school buildings or were newly established, are the most vacant schools due to the low turnout during this period and the increase in competition, which drives them to make special discounts for students of higher grades to encourage parents to transfer their children, in addition to the fact that The high prices of some new branches of schools compared to the old branches push students' families to try to register them in the old branches to take advantage of the price difference.

She called on students' schools to choose their children's schools based on their educational outcomes and their suitability with their tuition fees, in order to preserve their future and ensure that they have an education that enables them to acquire skills, instead of rushing to enroll their children in schools that offer financial discounts, and despite this, their educational outcomes are weak and not equal. With the fees paid.

For its part, the Department of Education and Knowledge adopts specific requirements for registering students in private schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, indicating the eligibility of all students, regardless of their ethnicities and genders, to apply for registration in any private school, and to allow parents to visit the school before registration.

She indicated that the admission of students to the kindergarten stage (kindergarten first and kindergarten second) takes place without interviews or exams, while the school may conduct an interview with students in the compulsory education stage (from grade one to grade 12), and conduct placement tests for the purpose of providing appropriate educational support. It is not for acceptance or rejection.

The absorptive capacity of schools

The data of the capacity of private schools in Abu Dhabi, and the number of student registration until the academic year 2018, showed that there are 44.2 thousand vacant school seats, as the capacity of private schools in Abu Dhabi reached 295.3 thousand academic seats, while the number of students registered in the emirate's schools reached 251.1 thousand students.

Statistics indicated that the number of schools in the 2015/2016 academic year reached 186 schools providing about 250,000 seats, and 236,000 students were enrolled in them, and in the 2016/2017 school year, the number of private schools reached 191 schools, providing 274,000 school seats. While the number of students reached 241 thousand students, while the number of schools during the academic year 2018-2019 reached 198 schools providing 295 thousand academic places, and 251 thousand students were registered in them.

• Increasing vacancies in some schools after students transfer from one to another with lower fees.

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