There is no uniform curriculum being followed in Dubai. Different schools have different curriculums. Some private primary schools conduct entrance tests. Majority of the private schools cater to one or more expatriate communities. There are schools like Delhi Private School or The Indian High School, Dubai, offering either a CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) or ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) syllabus. Then there are schools such as the Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School etc., offering British primary education up to the age of eleven.
There are the American and British curriculum schools, and also schools offering Arabic, Australian, French, Indian, German, Russian and Japanese curriculum, all of which are based in Dubai and UAE. Few of these schools are governed by the embassy of that particular country. As for expatriates, children often go to a private school based on the nationality and qualification preference that they possess.
The Dubai English Speaking School and the Jumeirah English Speaking School are the top choice for several expatriates, while Dubai College leads the list of secondary schools. The Dubai College, Dubai British School, English College Dubai, and Jumeirah College, St. Mary’s Catholic High School, are all British schools that offer GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and A-levels (Advanced level of General Certificate of Education).
The Emirates International School, Repton School, Wellington School and Cambridge International High School are all secondary schools offering a combination of IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education), GCSE and IB (International Baccalaureate) courses to Indian expatriate community.
The International School of Choueifat and Emirates International School offer both American and British curricula. There are plenty of K-12 schools offering the American syllabus in Dubai. The Universal American School (UAS), the American School of Dubai (ASD), and the Dubai American Academy (DAA) are all popular choices.
As for University Education, several expatriates prefer to send their children back to their home countries or to western countries. However, over the recent years, there are sizable numbers of foreign-accredited universities in Dubai, including the American University in Dubai (AUD), American College in Dubai, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, XLRI, Al Ghurair University, Birla Institute of Techology and Science, Middlesex University, Heriot-Watt University, SAE Institute, Dubai, Manipal University, Mahatma Gandhi University, British University of Dubai, Zayed University and more. There is also the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research at the Dubai Health Care City.
