With AED6.8 billion ($1.85 billion) of tuition revenues during the 2016/2017 academic year, Dubai’s private K12 education market remains one of the most attractive and fastest growing markets in the world, according to a new report.
Colliers International also said higher education in the emirate have been steadily increasing with enrolments in Dubai rising from 33,500 in 2011/12 to 46,000 in 2015/16, a growth rate of 8.4 percent.
Its report said growth was being driven by an expanding population, the popularity of Dubai with students from neighbouring emirates and the variety of institutions available.
“There has also been a growing preference towards international higher education institutes among Emirati parents and professionals seeking to complete their higher education while working in the emirate,” Colliers added.
It noted that the higher education sector still offers a number of opportunities for investors and operators to grow, as currently only 15 percent of total K12 students attend private universities in Dubai.
According to Colliers, business related courses remain the most popular choice in Dubai, followed by engineering and agriculture, then media and design, with approximately 80 percent of undergraduate students paying AED25,000-65,000 per annum and 70 percent of postgraduate students paying between AED50,000-110,000 per annum.
Mansoor Ahmed, director at Colliers International MENA, said: “The number of universities in Dubai has grown from just three to 62 in the last three decades, including 33 international universities from 12 countries such as Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on historical growth, Dubai is expected to require an estimated 68,000 student places of which 50,000 are expected to be in private sector by 2025.”