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Combating coronavirus: Home schooling gains momentum in UAE

Dubai - It appears that the home school population is continuing to grow as schools have shuttered their physical campuses to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Recognised online institutes and home-schooling providers are registering an upswing as many UAE parents seek professional alternatives in the age of distance learning.
It appears that the home school population is continuing to grow as schools have shuttered their physical campuses to curb the spread of Covid-19.
While institutes have moved their courses to remote and online formats, the reasonable fees of other online resources are increasingly drawing parents' interest.
Five times more enrollments
A home-schooling group in the UAE, which is accredited by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), is gaining traction since March as they observe a rise close to five times in their admissions.
Cody Claver, general manager of iCademy Middle East, said: "We have been seeing a spike in enrolment leads and questions are coming from parents whose students attend different schools ranging from CBSE, British, IB and American curriculums. I would say parents are more than curious. They are anxious about making sure their children are engaging in meaningful cognitive learning.
"Our school is built as a full-time online school. In our system, teachers are set up to instruct students and not worry about cobbling all the resources together to make meaningful learning. That work is done for them. That allows them to spend their time teaching, assessing students and providing meaningful feedback," he added.
"Right now we are offering KG to Grade 8 for Dh11,999 per annum and Grades 9-12 for Dh14,999. Both have no registration fee."
Providers feel the traction is long-term 
Providing professional student-centric online classes, other home school providers reiterate that the online schooling due to Covid-19 is opening future avenues. Anandh Isaiah, founder and director of Knowledge Quotient, said: "Home schooling may now become a thing of the future, especially if distance learning continues into the new session."
He added: "Parents have started asking why should they pay large tuition fees for an in-person experience that their children are not receiving? If students are learning online anyway, why not opt for a provider that has strong experience with online learning and can offer it more affordably."
nandini@khaleejtimes.com