How do Dubai parents choose a school for their children

Parents interact with education providers during last year's The School & Nursery Show.

"It's never been more difficult to choose a school or nursery": This is the view of thousands of parents who have signed up to attend The School & Nursery Show this year.
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Dubai has seen a surge in the number of schools and nurseries opening in the emirate, so it is likely that parents scrambling to be on admission lists will soon become a thing of the past. That's the good news.
However, with so much choice now, and fees still climbing, the decision-making process will become increasingly complex.
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Strategies are needed to implement those vital choices in school selection to guide children through the most critical journey of their lives.
Event organiser Catherine McEvoy said: "As parents, we are fortunate to have a wide array of choice of education compared with anywhere else in the world. Yet it's bewildering and costlier than ever to educate children. It can take months of research, budget planning and soul searching to narrow down options. Parents agonise over their choices and worry about the financial commitment involved."
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The School & Nursery Show, which will held on October 28-29 at the Dubai International Marine Club, will host schools, nurseries, tutoring services and home schooling to enable parents to discover all available options. The show will be open from 10am to 4pm on both days and is free to attend. Parents will get the opportunity to meet education leaders, principals, teachers and admissions staff.
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A live panel will debate how parents can build strategies to evaluate schools; how they can best prepare children for school and further education; and help them understand the complexities in the range of curricular.
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Paediatricians from Medcare Hospital will also be at the show to host invaluable child CPR sessions demonstrating valuable lifesaving skills to both parents and childcare providers.
How much UAE parents spend on education
UAE parents are the significant spenders when it comes to education, with recent reports suggesting that the total spending on education in the UAE is about 2% of GDP.
A recent WhichSchoolAdvisor.com study found that some Dubai parents will spend anywhere between Dh1.3 million and Dh2 million to educate their child from foundation years to their final year of high school, demonstrating that parents are not only bewildered by choice but face hardship in meeting those costs.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com