20,000 more seats in 9 new Dubai schools

September 3, 2013

Dubai, Sep 3: Nine new schools will open in Dubai this year, setting a record for the largest number of new schools to open in an academic year since the development of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in 2007.

The opening of these new schools will take the total number of private schools to 159, marking Dubai’s rebound from a financial slowdown during the global economic crisis.

Investors are pumping in more money into school education with every passing year, as more families are moving to Dubai, a city enjoying peace and stability in an increasingly volatile region.

Four of the nine schools, offering Indian curriculum, already opened earlier this year. Five more will open later this month as the new school year gets underway. These new schools will be able to accommodate more than 20,000 students as private schools already cater to some 225,000 students.

“The number of schools that are scheduled to open in 2013-14 is the largest number of new schools to open since KHDA was established six years ago,” said Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at KHDA.

He explained that new investors were allowed to open schools if they met regulations set out by the authority.

“New investors and existing operators are continuing to open new schools. As a regulator, KHDA’s role is to ensure that the regulations continue to be conducive for investments, while protecting the best interests of both the parents and investors,” he added.

The authority has developed several frameworks and worked on fee-regulation in the emirate.

“As long as investors, both existing and new, continue to submit applications in line with KHDA’s academic plan guide, they will be allowed to open new schools,” said Darwish.

School investors believe the number of schools will continue to increase as more families move to the UAE.

“Dubai has weathered financial difficulties and is bouncing back very strongly. It has been the safest place in the Middle East with an increasing influx of nationals from Syria, Iran, Iraq and the wider Mena region,” said Mark Atkins, Head of Academics and Education, Evolvence Knowledge Investments (EKI).

The company successfully runs the Repton School in Dubai as it plans to open a branch in Abu Dhabi along with a third school, the Foremarke School.

“The quality of education is improving and Dubai is being recognised for this reason. Increased competition among schools is good news for parents as they will have a choice of more high quality schools,” he added.

The emirate’s excellent school infrastructure is also supported by a growing higher education sector, with the UAE already holding the record for hosting the largest number of international branch campuses in the world.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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