Expatriate pupils wishing to enroll in a government school in Abu Dhabi may apply online only from March 19 to March 23. They will be considered if they meet Adec’s enrollment criteria for non-nationals and if the school has not reached capacity.
The number of expatriate pupils in government schools cannot exceed 20 percent of the total population, reported The National. Registration is free for Emiratis and costs Dh6,000 for expatriates.
The annual growth rate of enrollment across public schools in the emirate is nearly double that of private schools, the report quoted Abu Dhabi Education Council as saying.
“There is an increase from time to time, maybe about 10 percent every year,” Humaid Abdulla, Adec’s student services division manager, reportedly said. “A lot of families come to Abu Dhabi, a few are migrating from private to public schools and there is a lot of growth happening with the national communities outside the island, so there is growth.”
There are currently about 135,000 children at Adec’s 250 public schools, from kindergarten to Grade 12, Abdulla reportedly said.
By comparison, the student population at the emirate’s 186 private schools is about 236,000, according to Adec’s Private Schools and Quality Assurance Sector Annual Report 2015-2016. That means 64.5 percent of school-age children in the emirate attend private schools, the report said.
The 10 percent growth in public school enrollment cited by Abdulla exceeds the annual increase of the Emirati student population at private schools by 4 percent.
In private schools, national student population is “growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6 per cent”, according to the private schools report.
Adec on Wednesday announced a new enrollment system for prospective public school pupils that speeds up the registration process and eliminates waiting lists by automatically redirecting the child to the nearest public school with available places within the same catchment area.
“The system is designed to be more intelligent in providing available seats,” Abdulla reportedly said. “If the capacity of that school is full, it will automatically divert (the student) to the nearest school as per the planning.”
Families have been encouraged to register students early, as the vacant seats are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Class sizes are capped at 20 pupils for kindergarten, 25 pupils for Cycle 1 schools and 30 pupils for Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 schools.
Children entering kindergarten 1 must be at least 4 years old by December 31. Children who are 5 by December 31 enter kindergarten 2, while children aged 6 by December 31 enter Grade 1, reported The National.
For more information, visit www.adec.ac.ae or call 02 615 0000.
