Education in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Education in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Tel: +971 2 8100000 - Fax: +971 2 8100800 P.O. Box: 6036, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Vast Strides in Education

The development of formal education in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi goes back to the 1960's, but rapid progress in this sector started in 1971, following the declaration of the UAE Federation and the creation of the Ministry of Education and Youth. The ministry had since assumed responsibility for all the stages of public education and, within a short span of time, government schools spread across the nation, the education sector underwent substantial improvements, bringing about an impressive shift in the society's educational profile. Over the past decades, the Government of Abu Dhabi, has paid particular attention to education and adopted plans and strategies designed to develop it to match international standards and support the government's policies and future and future objectives. In implementation of its educational strategy, the Government established schools and universities and provided them with teaching and administrative staff and advanced teaching aids, in order to achieve its goals of building the nation's future generations. Thanks to the attention paid to this sector, education flourished and illiteracy rate retreated from 23.4% in 1995 to 20.7% in 2001, 12.6% in 2005 and 8.3% in 2009.

Illiteracy Rate (%) among the Population (10 years and above) by Nationality and Gender

Nationality & Gender

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total for the Emirate

12.6

11.9

10.7

9.5

8.3

Male

14.2

13.4

12.0

10.6

9.2

Female

9.1

8.7

8.0

7.3

6.6

Nationals

8.3

7.9

7.4

6.8

6.3

Male

5.0

4.8

4.4

4.0

3.7

Female

11.5

11.0

10.4

9.7

9.0

Non Nationals

13.9

13.0

11.6

10.2

8.9

Male

16.0

15.0

13.4

11.8

10.2

Female

7.9

7.4

6.8

6.1

5.4

Sources: Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

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The Educational Infrastructure

With the introduction of formal education in the emirate back in the 1960's, the government assumed full responsibility for developing education and catering to its needs. Afterwards, private education came about to complement the government's work in this arena. In the school year 2009/2010 the share of private schools reached 56% of total enrollment in the Emirate. The total number of schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for the school year 2009/2010 year was 481, of which 51 were kindergartens, 91 cycle 1 schools, 62 cycle 2 schools, 46 secondary schools, and 231 multistage schools. The corresponding number of Government schools for the same year was 305, of which 44 were kindergartens, 91 cycle 1 schools, 62 cycle 2 schools, 42 secondary schools, and 62 multi-stage schools. The total number of private schools in the whole Emirate for the same year 2009/2010 was 176, of which 7 were kindergartens and 169 were multi-stage schools.

Schools in Abu Dhabi Emirate by Region and School Year

Region/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

Total

479

495

Abu Dhabi Region

245

245

Al Ain Region

169

180

Western Region

65

70

Source: Abu Dhabi Education Council

2009/2010 481 242 186 53

Schools in Abu Dhabi Emirate by Sector and School Year

Sector/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

Total

479

495

Government Education

304

322

Private Education

175

173

Source: Abu Dhabi Education Council

2009/2010 481 305 176

134

Enrollment Ratio

The number of pupils enrolled for the school year 2008/2009 in all educational stages up to the secondary level was 288314. The overall female/male ratio is (0.99), indicating that the numbers of females and males are roughly equal. However, the ratio is highest in the secondary stage for both government and private education, since larger numbers of males than females withdraw from the educational system to search for employment opportunities.

Percentage Distribution of Pupils by Region and School Year

Region/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

2009/2010

Emirate's Total

224010

250909

288314

Total

%100

%100

%100

Abu Dhabi Region

%57.6

%59.2

%60.6

Al Ain Region

%35.6

%34.9

%33.8

Western Region

%6.8

%5.9

%5.6

Sources: Abu Dhabi Education Council, Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

Gross enrolment ratio is defined as the number of pupils, regardless of age, enrolled in a particular education stage divided by the number of population within the official age group for that stage, multiplied by 100. The 2008/2009 gross enrolment ratio in the first cycle was 95.6%, the corresponding figures for males and females were 96.1% and 95.1%, respectively. Net enrolment ratio in the first cycle for the same academic year (2008/2009) was 81.8%, the corresponding ratios for males and females are 83.0% and 80.5%, respectively. Net enrolment ratio is defined as the number of enrolled pupils in the official age range of a particular education stage divided by the number of population within the official age group for that stage, multiplied by 100.

Percentage Distribution of Pupils by Sector and School Year

Sector/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

Emirate's Total

224010

250909

Total

%100

%100

Government Education

%63.4

%50.7

Private Education

%36.6

%49.3

Sources: Abu Dhabi Education Council, Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

2009/2010 288314 %100 %43.8 %56.2

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Ratio of National Pupils to Non-national Pupils (%) in Government and Private Schools by Region and School Year

Region/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

2009/2010

Emirate's Total

79.0

87.2

85.8

Abu Dhabi Region

58.1

67.8

68.6

Al Ain Region

125.6

129.6

128.1

Western Region

Sources: Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

85.0

100.6

83.5

Ratio of National Pupils to Non-national Pupils by Sector and School Year

Sector/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

2009/2010

Emirate's Total Government Education Private Education

Sources: Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

79.0 137.6

25.4

87.2 265.3

24.7

85.8 270.7

33.8

152

Women in Education

Emirati women have benefited a great deal from the broad range of educational opportunities made available to them. The ratio of female pupils to male pupils in all education stages up to the secondary stage for the whole Emirate increased from 95% in the school year 2000/2001 to 98.7% in the year 2009/2010. Female enrollment, which tends to increase up the educational system, reached 81.7% in cycle-2 for school year 2008/2009 compared with 79.4% for male pupils.

Ratio of Female Pupils to Male Pupils in Government & Private Schools (%) by Region and School Year

Region/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

2009/2010

Emirate's Total

95.0

95.4

98.7

Abu Dhabi Region

93.7

95.1

95.7

Al Ain Region

97.7

94.9

102.8

Western Region

91.5

100.9

108.6

Sources: Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

Teachers

The combined total enrollment for Government and private education in the school year 2009/2010 was 288314 pupils, taught by 20299 teachers (i.e. the pupil to teacher ratio is 14.2), of whom 10854 teachers belonged to government schools, compared with 9445 teachers working in private education. During the school year 2009/2010, 4319 of teachers in government education were UAE nationals, of whom 88.7% were females.

Teachers in Government Education by Nationality, Gender and School Year

Nationality & Gender/School Year 2000/2001 2005/2006 2009/2010

Emirate's Total

10517

10436

10854

Nationals

2534

3636

4319

Males

297

406

486

Females

2237

3230

3833

Nationals

7983

6800

6535

Males

4578

4043

3795

Females

3405

2757

2740

Sources: Abu Dhabi Education Council

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Percentage Distribution of Teachers in Government and Private Education by Region and School Year

Region/School Year

2000/2001

2005/2006

2009/2010

Emirate's Total Total

15814 %100

18712 %100

20299 %100

Abu Dhabi Region

%53.8

%55.8

%54.6

Al Ain Region

%36.4

%35.8

%37.8

Western Region

%9.8

%8.4

Sources: Abu Dhabi Education Council, Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

%7.6

Higher Education

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is home to nine universities (2 government and 7 private) and 16 other institutions of higher education (3 government and 13 private). In the academic year 2008/2009, the total enrolled student cohort in local institutions was 34955, consisting of 77.8% nationals and 22.2% nonnationals. Some 4850 students graduated from higher education institutions in that year. Students on scholarships abroad in the academic year 2007/2008 totalled 823, of whom 173 students graduated during the same academic year.

Higher Education Institutions by Type and Sector, 2008/2009

Type/Sector

Government Private

Total

Emirate's Total

5

20

25

Universities

2

7

9

Colleges

2

10

12

Institutes

1

3

4

Source: Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

170

Higher Education Students by Nationality, Sector and Gender, 2008/2009

Nationality & Sector/Gender

Males

Total

Females

Numerical

%

Nationals

8973

18239

27212

100.0

Government

4,950

15,766

20,716

76.1

Private

4,023

2,473

6,496

23.9

Non-Nationals

3487

4256

7743

100.0

Government

800

1,421

2,221

28.7

Private

2,687

2,835

5,522

71.3

Sources: UAE University, Zayed University, Higher College of Technology, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

Higher Education Graduates by Nationality, Sector and Gender, 2008/2009

Nationality & Sector/Gender

Males

Total

Females

Numerical

%

Nationals

1445

2783

4228

100.0

Government

1224

2650

3,874

91.6

Private

221

133

354

8.4

Non-Nationals

217

405

622

100.0

Government

106

240

346

55.6

Private

111

165

276

44.4

Sources: UAE University, Zayed University, Higher College of Technology, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi

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