Outcome-oriented reforms position the emirate for excellence

The development of a knowledge-based economy and skilled workforce are critical components of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, the emirate’s long-term development plan, as evidenced by the strong growth in the education sector over the past decade. Government spending on education remains high, guided by mid-and long-term strategies targeting innovation, career development and outcomes in the kindergarten-to-grade-12 (K-12), vocational education and training, and higher education segments. At the post-secondary level these strategies have seen strong growth in enrolment, including the burgeoning vocational and PhD segments, while the emirate’s rising population and the resulting expansion of private K-12 schools led authorities to roll out a progressive new curriculum – in addition to what are perhaps the region’s most stringent monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Although the sector increasingly faces capacity constraints due to demographic pressures, the government’s education vision is nonetheless expected to have a positive impact on students’ employment prospects, while also helping to meet the needs of Abu Dhabi’s dynamic and evolving labour market.

Development

When Abu Dhabi first began producing oil in 1962, the emirate had 20 schools with a combined enrolment of fewer than 4000 students and no post-secondary institutions. At the time of its federation in 1971, the entire UAE had a student population of less than 28,000. The sector’s dramatic transformation began with Federal Law No. 11 of 1972, which made primary education compulsory.

Economic Vision 2030’s immediate priorities include improving the labour market and developing a highly skilled and productive workforce. To this end, the Abu Dhabi government has invested significantly in education over the previous decade. In terms of mid-range solutions, the federal Ministry of Education (MoE) recently established a nationwide policy, formally approved in October 2014, that will run from 2015 to 2021 and focus on knowledge integration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – all of which contribute to building a knowledge-based economy.

A greater focus on standards, outcomes and innovation has seen the government allocate 21% of federal spending under the UAE’s Dh140bn ($38.11bn) 2014-16 draft budget to public and higher education. In January 2014 the MoE announced a nationwide education budget of more than Dh9.8bn ($2.67bn), or 21% of the 2014 budget of Dh46.2bn ($12.58bn), with Dh6bn ($1.63bn) earmarked for improvements to general education and the remainder allocated to excellence programmes in local universities. Education could receive an even larger slice of the pie in 2015, following the October 2014 announcement that the UAE’s 2015 draft budget will emphasise education and health care under its social development pillar. Total budgetary allocations for 2015 expanded by 6.3% to reach Dh49.1bn ($13.37bn), with social development set to receive Dh24bn ($6.53bn), or 49% of spending, while government services are forecast to receive Dh20bn ($5.44bn), which is equal to 41% of allocations.

Oversight

The MoE regulates the UAE’s K-12 education system. The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) oversees education in public schools across the emirate within the framework of the UAE’s general education policy. ADEC acts as the educational authority for the emirate, including Al Ain and Al Gharbia. The council has been the supervisory body of the emirate of Abu Dhabi since 2008, when it assumed these duties from the MoE, and it recently introduced an education inspection system that is being overseen by the Private Schools and Quality Assurance (PSQA) sector, which is slated to be expanded to the post-secondary segment. ADEC’s regulatory responsibility extends to overseeing all school fees, with the council taking a prominent role in cracking down on schools that raise fees without approval. ADEC receives fees increase requests, and improvements in inspection grade or band, facility, resources, special needs services and other criteria are used to determine the percentage of increase, if eligible for any.

At the post-secondary level, the federal Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) has oversight of non-vocational post-secondary programmes, including the growing PhD segment. The ministry’s Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) licenses both public and private degree-granting institutions in the UAE, following a September 2013 reform that extended its purview to federal universities. Recently the CAA has also begun evaluating and ranking universities according to a system of benchmarks tailored to the emirate’s education system, in partnership with the Centre for Higher Education Data and Statistics.

Research

To further bolster research activities in the country, the government has established two national research bodies. The National Authority for Scientific Research, operating under the aegis of the MOHESR, was inaugurated in 2008 to support innovation and build a strong research base capable of disseminating information across universities and colleges.

Meanwhile, the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research was established in 1994, and it acts as an independent centre for scientific research and studies on social, economic and political issues within the UAE and wider Gulf region.

Vocational Regulation & Oversight

The Vocational Education and Training Awards Council (VETAC), under the auspices of the National Qualifications Authority (NQA), regulates the licensing of vocational institutions to deliver national vocational qualifications as registered training providers. In November 2014 the NQA established two awarding bodies to implement VETAC’s national registration.

The Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education Training (ACTVET) is one of these awarding bodies. ACTVET regulates and manages vocational and training programmes for the emirate, with two agencies operating underneath it: the Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute (ADVETI) and the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT).

The IAT oversees programmes across the UAE focusing on high-tech fields such as aeronautics, robotics and nuclear energy, while ADVETI operates seven institutes focused on vocational training, with programmes spanning business and tourism to engineering. VETAC likewise regulates national vocational qualifications.

Qualifications Framework

Also operating at the federal level, the NQA was established in late 2010 to work with all relevant entities to create a unified national system of qualifications across all levels of education. In February 2012 the NQA board approved the Qualifications Framework for the Emirates Handbook and its 10-level framework, the QFE mirates.

The framework aims to create a consistent, all-encompassing system by which all qualifications in the UAE can be compared nationally and internationally. The framework recognises formal structured learning achieved in institutions, schools and training centres as well as informal and non-formal learning achieved in the workforce, community and other settings.

Within the NQA’s framework there exist three key agencies: the CAA, which looks after any non-vocational programme that operates above the secondary school; VETAC; and the General Education Commission of the Ministry of Education.

“The collaboration of these agencies to implement the framework is assisting the country’s decision-makers to develop relevant strategic educational and training policies to improve the UAE’s economic, social and personal competitiveness,” Dr Thani Al Mehairi, director-general of the NQA, told OBG.

Vocational programmes have become more important for the development of a skilled Emirati workforce, with the country’s regulatory framework and related policies for the vocational education and training (VET) sector increasingly targeting anticipated labour market requirements. For example, a recent Absher initiative is the “Occupations and Careers Handbook for UAE Nationals”, developed by a committee comprising representatives from the NQA, Ministry of Labour, Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council and ACTVET.

The handbook identifies 155 specific occupations and five priority sectors that are regarded as critical to future economic growth. “The handbook is the first of its kind in the Gulf region. The detailed information about the 155 attractive, sustainable and critical occupations will help young Emiratis make informed study and career decisions,” Al Mehairi said.

K-12 Growth

Abu Dhabi’s primary and secondary school system is divided into four stages. Children attend two years of kindergarten starting at age four; followed by primary school, or Cycle 1 (grades 1-5); middle school, or Cycle 2 (grades 6-9); and secondary school (grades 10-12). The emirate was home to 450 primary and secondary schools in the 2012/13 academic year, which includes 265 public schools and 185 private schools, according to the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD). Of the public schools, 51 were kindergartens; 77 were Cycle 1 schools; 46 were Cycle 2; 33 were Cycle 3 schools; and 58 were common cycle schools.

A growing population has seen K-12 enrolment rise by more than 5% annually over the past decade. The emirate’s population, which recorded an average annual growth rate of 8.1% between the years 2005 and 2012, expanded by 8% to reach some 2.3m in 2012, before increasing by 8.7% to top 2.5m in 2013. The number of students enrolled in primary and secondary education grew by 26% in five years to reach 325,901 during the 2012/13 school year, up from 258,450 in 2007.

In January 2012 ADEC announced that the emirate would build 100 new K-12 schools in the coming decade to meet growing demand from the estimated 70,000 new students entering its K-12 school system by 2020. Demand is also being driven by a decree requiring that all Abu Dhabi government workers live in the emirate, as well as a host of major new developments coming on-line that are boosting employment opportunities. The UAE’s population is also expanding: nearly 40% of Emiratis are under the age of 15, with the population of nationals growing at a rate of 3.28% annually and expected to double within 21 years.

Private Schools

Private schools have played an increasingly important role in recent years, with SCAD reporting that the number of government-owned schools dropped from 299 in 2010/11 to 265 in 2012/13, while the number of private schools rose from 181 to 185 over the same period, considering the fact that various villa schools were closed in the process. The number of students enrolled in government education dropped by 0.54% between 2010/11 and 2012/13, falling from 125,949 to 125,263. At the same time, private school enrolment jumped by 11.1% during the same period to reach 200,638, up from 180,548.

ADEC has moved to meet this shifting demand, announcing in 2014 that it planned to offer cheap land and fast-track operating licences, which are expected to encourage private development of new schools.

Some progress has been made in recent years, with ADEC announcing the inauguration of 14 new private schools in September 2014. Opened in time for the 2014/15 school year, the institutions have a collective capacity of about 20,000 seats.

“Schools in Abu Dhabi benefit from annual growth rates of about 5%, and over the previous three years, we’ve had between 10 and 14 schools opening on a yearly basis. The student population rate is increasing every year, which provides a lot of opportunities for investors,” Tareq Al Ameri, an engineer at ADEC, told OBG.

Indeed, new schools have been unable to keep up with growing demand and continue to report sizeable waiting lists for potential students. Raha International, for example, reported that it had received 700 applications for the 88 available spaces in its 2014/15 kindergarten programme, and every other grade was completely full with a waiting list.

“The cumulative waiting list for all of our schools was over 7000 students, just [in 2014]. The priority now is to move forward on building and staffing new schools, such as a secondary all-girls school and American curriculum schools, and we must not shy away from the big demand in the mid-range tier,” Nilay Ozral, CEO of Aldar Academies, told OBG.

IRTIQA’A 

In addition, ADEC has taken on an increasingly prominent role in the monitoring and evaluation of existing schools. The council has rolled out a stringent, internationally accredited inspection process to the entire public K-12 system in 2012 after four years of mandatory private school inspections (see analysis). ADEC’s new inspection system was designed as part of the Irtiqa’a (“Raising the Bar”) initiative, which was announced in February 2012.

Although the results of earlier inspections were not made public, the government has since shifted towards a more transparent model, as ADEC officials announced in May 2013 that PSQA’s private school inspection results would be made publicly available for the first time. “It has had a very positive impact. Parents can now make informed decisions, safe in the knowledge that inspectors rate schools based on a number of select criteria, such as the quality of teaching and learning, school facilities, and health and safety. The rating system will naturally drive those in the lower bands to improve and move up in the ratings, thereby raising the overall quality of education in Abu Dhabi,” Ozral told OBG.

Abu Dhabi School Model

In addition to the Irtiqa’a programme, in recent years the emirate has implemented curriculum reform under the Abu Dhabi School Model. Designed to improve outcomes, the Abu Dhabi School Model begins long-term career development for Emirati students at the kindergarten level, though the results of this programme may not be immediately measurable. ADEC launched the model in 2010, reforming existing teaching methods and implementing a student-centred approach to learning.

Under the Abu Dhabi School Model, which was benchmarked against the leading nations in early childhood education (such as Australia, the US, the UK and Finland), critical thinking and research activities are emphasised, while the language of instruction for mathematics and science was changed to English, in line with the aim of improving language proficiency.

Through the programme ADEC introduced a new integrated social studies course in 2013, combining elements of history, geography, social studies and national education. Although ADEC first implemented the reforms in kindergarten through grade three, it has since expanded the programme by an additional grade each year, through to grade seven by 2014/15. The Abu Dhabi School Model is poised to expand to grade 12 when completed. By the time the expansion is complete, more than 67,000 students will have graduated.

Supplemental Supplies & Training

The Abu Dhabi School Model has spurred considerable investment in supplies and training programmes in order to meet new curriculum demands. In August 2013, for example, ADEC announced that new science and English-language textbooks, focusing on the UAE’s culture, heritage and national identity, would be introduced in the emirate’s public schools from kindergarten to the end of Cycle 1. In September 2013 ADEC reported that 4300 teachers in Abu Dhabi’s public schools had begun receiving training to prepare them to implement the Abu Dhabi School Model. As part of the training programme, more than 380 heads of faculty received professional development training, designed to help them train teachers at their own schools.

However, the model’s purported benefits may not be fully measurable until complete implementation is achieved across all levels of the K-12 segment, which is expected by the 2019/20 school year. For example, as of 2013, ADEC reported that the performance of school graduates was unsatisfactory, with 35% unqualified for university and more than 87% requiring bridge programmes. These mixed initial results, however, are likely to improve with time.

Technology

While rolling out its new curriculum and expanding its school inspection programme, the emirate has concurrently made substantial investments in technology, which are expected to dramatically change traditional learning models.

“Advanced technology is already available in the classroom as we have developed the physical infrastructure to support it. Now it is a matter of harnessing the power of that technology in meaningful ways to engage students,” Abdullatif Al Shamsi, professor of mechanical engineering at UAE University, told OBG.

“Technology can play a significant role in quality assurance. However, it must be implemented and utilised correctly in order to better understand the individual requirements of a student. This allows teachers to help address the needs of struggling students and find ways to motivate them as well,” Kenneth Vedra, director-general of Emirates National School, told OBG.

Across The UAE

The newly established Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Programme will see grade-seven pupils from eight public schools participate in a pilot programme, comprising 60 teachers and 700 students, to explore the implementation of ICT in education. The Dh1bn ($272.2m) programme, which will be expanded to all schools by 2020, was launched in January 2014 in association with Abu Dhabi-based telecoms firm Etisalat. It will equip 400 campuses with 4G networks, e-boards, smart tablets and e-content, including textbooks on iPhones, iPads and Android platforms.

Under the initiative, every student will be provided with an electronic tablet and 4G internet access by 2017. The MoE has also partnered with Samsung and Google, which will assist in the delivery of smart-learning services and YouTube tutorials, respectively. In October 2014 officials announced the expansion of the smart learning programme to 800 classrooms in 146 schools across the country, with 3543 laptops and 800 smart boards already deployed, benefitting 24,328 students.

Technology is also used to promote knowledge exchange in Abu Dhabi via Ankabut – or the Advanced National Research and Education Network – which provides high-speed broadband connectivity to academic and research organisations within the UAE and links them to others throughout the world. Managed by Khalifa University for Science, Technology and Research (KU), Ankabut runs a 10 GB backbone and 1 GB access links, which enables a range of real-time IT services and aims to promote collaboration and cooperation between universities, such as sharing lectures, inter-library loans and connecting international branches to their home campuses (see analysis).

Training Teachers

In addition to programmes focused on school performance and technology, teacher training has come under greater scrutiny in recent years, with several new MoE programmes under way expected to have an impact on the country’s human resources development and job creation strategies.

“As part of the UAE’s goal to effectively become a knowledge-based productive society, an emphasis has to be placed not only on education, but also on educators themselves, with a special focus on creating excellence in the classroom,” Jamal Sanad Al Suwaidi, the director-general of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, told OBG.

A key institute educating educators themselves is the Emirates College for Advanced Education, which provides undergraduate and post-graduate education degrees as well as professional development courses for teachers to encourage a culture of continual learning and development. Affiliated with ADEC, the institution aims to enhance teachers’ effectiveness, thus supporting improved outcomes for students.

The country is also developing fast-track teacher training programmes to fill gaps in the workforce. An ongoing shortage of Emirati teachers and special needs educators, coupled with high youth unemployment rates across the country, led the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development (EFYD) to launch the Kayani programme in 2012. The initiative aims to train thousands of young, unemployed Emiratis who have not yet completed post-secondary studies, thereby certifying graduates to work as teaching assistants for students with special needs in public schools.

Female nationals have already benefitted from the programme, as the MoE and EFYD launched a pilot programme for unemployed Emirati women between the ages of 18 and 35 to become Kayani assistants in 2012. Students undergo six months of theoretical education and another six months of practical training in schools. In 2014 more than 4500 women applied for just 100 spots in the programme – demand was so high that the EFYD doubled the number of participants it would accept to 200. As a result of these early successes, part of an agreement signed by the MoE and EFYD in April 2014 included a wider plan to offer young Emiratis opportunities to become professional teaching assistants through the programme.

In addition, the introduction of the new Professional Teaching Standards for the UAE in 2015 will lead to the development of post-graduate vocational qualifications that certify a teacher has successfully met the improved standards, as well as the creation of a range of related professional development opportunities.

Vocational Schools

The government has been active in improving employment prospects for nationals that choose not to enrol in degree programmes, which has led to steady growth in vocational training activities. ACTVET is charged with raising the proportion of nationals enrolled in technical education in the emirate of Abu Dhabi to 30% by 2018, up from the current level of 13%. A government campaign to equip Emiratis with the technical skills required by the economy and the introduction of QFE mirates, which is designed to drive the development of national vocational qualifications, have seen the sector become increasingly attractive to nationals. “The technical education system is being recognised by employers, which adds to the attractiveness of vocational programmes,” Adel Al Ameri, the managing director of ADVETI, told OBG. “It is important to facilitate the steps leading to technical education; in this vein, using the QFE mirates, high school students can transfer their credits towards further technical education in the same discipline.”

To meet increasing demand, with 5000 students applying for only 1200 spots in 2012, ACTVET opened four new schools in Ajman, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbia in 2014. Total enrolment in ACTVET entities – including ADVETI institutes, Applied Technology High Schools, Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) colleges and ADVETI’s Vocational Education Development Centre, a technical boarding school for male students who have dropped out of the traditional school system – now stands at 13,261, according to data from ACTVET.

Meeting Market Needs

Several ADVETI and IAT institutions offer tertiary degree and diploma programmes. The IAT’s Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, for example, has campuses in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi City, with total enrolment of 940 students, and offers programmes tailored to future labour market needs, especially in the nuclear energy, aerospace and aviation, and petroleum engineering segments. Its Higher Diploma in Advanced Energy Engineering Technology, for example, is designed to provide the required qualified manpower to meet the needs of the emerging nuclear industry in partnership with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and the Korea Electric Power Corporation. Indeed, the primary goal of these vocational programmes is to ensure that locals have the skills to operate in more technically demanding positions.

“The prevailing issue is that in the medium to long term the public sector will not be able to provide jobs for the entire local population, and we have to develop the skills of the national workforce such that they can attain meaningful employment within the private sector,” Al Mehairi told OBG. To this end, partnerships between vocational institutions and local industry have been emphasised by ACTVET for years, with curricula developed in tandem with industry representatives to address the needs of the labour market. As a result, many ACTVET students have their studies sponsored by companies and graduate directly into a job – for example, with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Emirates Steel, Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi Police.

In September 2014 Abu Dhabi Polytechnic signed a memorandum of understanding with ENEC for a joint vocational training programme to support the UAE’s burgeoning nuclear energy industry. Under the deal, ENEC and Abu Dhabi Polytechnic will collaborate on a customised nuclear energy curriculum for students who will be employed by ENEC upon graduation, with the company requiring about 2500 additional employees by 2020, of which at least 60% should be Emiratis.

“Going forward, we are set to launch two new programmes: a bachelor’s of meteorology science and an autonomous vehicle maintenance programme for unmanned aerial, marine and land vehicles. We will be the only institution to offer the meteorology degree in the UAE, but we do not start any programme before conducting intensive research to determine which industries have a big need for professionals,” Slayem Sroor Al Shamsi, the director of Abu Dhabi Polytechnic’s Al Ain campus, told OBG.

Post- Secondary Growth

Although Abu Dhabi did not have a single post-secondary institution until the 1970s, growth in this segment over the past decade has been remarkable, with Abu Dhabi’s higher education segment now the fastest growing in the UAE. Postsecondary enrolment expanded by 58.6% between 2008 and 2013 to reach 51,333 students, beating out Dubai (54.4%), Sharjah (31.9%), Ajman (40.4%), Ras Al Khaimah (46.9%) and Fujairah (26.1%). For its part, Umm Al Quwain opened its first post-secondary institution in 2013, with 111 students.

Of the total number of students enrolled in post-secondary education in Abu Dhabi, Emiratis represent 73.8%, or 37,894 students, of which 61.8% are female.

Abu Dhabi is currently home to three federal institutions, with MOHESR data showing there are 27 nonfederal institutions in operation. The emirate’s first post-secondary institution, the UAE University (UAEU), opened in Al Ain in November 1977, followed by the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in 1988, which today boasts eight campuses in Abu Dhabi.

Zayed University (ZU) rounded out the emirate’s federal university portfolio when it was established in 1998. Federal university admission is reserved for UAE nationals, or those with a mother who has UAE citizenship, with strong growth in enrolment and programme offerings seen in recent years.

Founded with a mission to provide practical training, HCT is the largest higher education institution in the emirate, offering both diploma and degree programmes, with approximately 20,000 students spread across 17 male and female campuses in the UAE, eight of which are located in Abu Dhabi. HCT specialises in offering work-relevant, English-taught programmes focusing on applied communication, business, computer and information science, engineering technology, health sciences and education, and has awarded over 60,000 academic credentials to students since 1991.

“To reach the government’s goals and objectives pertaining to Emiratisation levels, it is vital that the UAE’s higher education institutions continue to ensure that they produce high-quality programmes that focus on targeted priorities which meet with industry needs, thus resulting in an effective match between graduates and employment opportunities,” Mohamed Omran, chancellor of HCT, told OBG.

UAEU, based in Al Ain, is the second-largest federal university in the emirate and experienced 3.9% enrolment growth between 2012/13 and 2013/14 to reach 14,024 students, up from around 13,500, with female students accounting for 77% of total enrolment. In addition to offering bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, UAEU is the only federal institution to offer PhD programmes.

Initially founded to educate women, ZU now caters to a co-ed student body of approximately 10,000 at its Dubai and Abu Dhabi campuses, the latter having opened in 2011 at a cost of Dh3bn ($816.6m). ZU has seen over 6500 bachelor’s students graduate since its founding and offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in arts, sciences, business education, IT and media.

Within the private sector, MOHESR’s emphasis on science, technology and innovation has seen the sector’s industry partnerships, research activities and programmes, and PhD segment all expand dramatically in recent years, with new private players now moving to shore up talent development across a host of in-demand fields, including in the petroleum and energy sciences, aviation and engineering departments (see analysis).

Private Institutions

Private higher education is an important dimension of the rapidly growing post-secondary education market in Abu Dhabi, thanks in large part to government support and funding, and strategic partnerships with private sector players. The Petroleum Institute, funded by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was established in 2000 and opened its doors in 2001, providing free education to qualified students in exchange for a commitment to work at the company for a period after graduation. For its part, KU – which is fully owned and funded by the emirate – was inaugurated in 2007 and seeks to attract and retain top post-graduate students in an increasingly competitive global landscape. More recently, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, known as the Masdar Institute, started operations in 2009 and has since seen rapid expansion of its graduate programmes at its research-focused Abu Dhabi campus.

Though private education supply is struggling to keep pace with increasing demand, quality continues to be an important factor for parents choosing a private education for their children and schools with higher inspection rankings are more sought after (see analysis).

Branch Campuses

Several international branch academies have opened in recent years, offering a wider selection of programmes, including liberal arts degrees, and new opportunities to expand and internationalise the sector. Abu Dhabi currently hosts six international branch institutions, including New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), Morocco’s Mohammed V University, the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD), INSEAD, the New York Institute of Technology, and the Strathclyde Business School UAE.

The PSUAD and NYUAD are the most recent entrants to the market, though they have already shown impressive growth. The PSUAD opened in 2006 and had about 800 students from 75 countries enrolled at its new Dh1.6bn ($435.5m) campus on Al Reem Island as of 2013, expanding its undergraduate offerings to include a department of physics in partnership with Paris’ Pierre and Marie Curie University in September 2013. It also works with Paris-Descartes, which awards degrees in law, management and economics.

NYUAD, meanwhile, has seen enrolment more than quadruple since it was founded in 2010, opening its permanent campus on Saadiyat Island in the autumn of 2014. NYUAD currently has over 600 students hailing from more than 100 countries enrolled, with the student body expected to grow to 2000-2200 with time.

Outlook

As Abu Dhabi moves forward on plans to foster a knowledge-based economy and reduce unemployment, education will continue to play a critical role in the emirate’s future economic expansion. With government spending expected to remain elevated and a host of new reforms slowly making an impact on all educational offerings, Abu Dhabi is poised to capitalise on a growing base of skilled Emirati talent. High population growth has created challenging capacity constraints, as teacher recruitment and retention in K-12 schools continue to pose problems for school administration and the quality of education.

However, new curricula reforms, the introduction of national teaching standards, investment in technology, and monitoring and evaluation activities will promote sustainable K-12 growth throughout the emirate, while a greater focus on research and innovation at the post-graduate level will also help the emirate meet the skills and labour requirements of the wider economy.