About 42 per cent of expatriate parents in the UAE said that schools in the Emirates are still not on par with international standards in a new survey.

However, and equal percentage of foreigners are generally satisfied with the quality of private school education in the Emirates, saying it is on the same level as those in their home countries, according to the survey, conducted by WhichSchoolAdvisor, a leading source of information on schools in the UAE.

The survey asked over 1,000 expatriate parents about their school choices - who are the happiest parents in terms of their perception of the quality of education their children are getting, if the introduction of new schools make parents more or less likely to change schools, and what are the top three criteria for parents in choosing a school.

“About 16 per cent of parents whose children have attended state schools or their equivalent are happy with UAE schools but, only 4 per cent of parents whose children went to private schools elsewhere are happy,” said James Mullen, co-founder, WhichSchoolAdvisor.

“Quality of education is of paramount concern for parents, with 28 per cent of the respondents citing academic results as the top factor for their choice of school, followed by reputation (21 per cent) and price 19 per cent).

“This means parents are willing to pay for quality education, unfortunately there is a dearth of information on academic results from schools,” Mullen added.

Results of the survey were revealed at the ongoing International and Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF) conference in Dubai, UAE.

International and private education experts have gathered in Dubai for the IPSEF Middle East edition to assess challenges and opportunities facing operators, administrators and other key stakeholders in the education sector in the region.

Rhona Greenhill, co-founder, IPSEF said the conference has provided an excellent platform to dissect the issues that will have an impact on the growth of the international and private education sector in the region.

“We hope that in providing access to these invaluable insights, we would have contributed to the development of a truly dynamic education sector in this part of the world; and help raise the bar for the delivery of education in schools throughout the region,” Greenhill said.

IPSEF is being held in partnership with Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) and The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA); it is also supported by Oxford University Press, The Parthenon Group, GL Education, and the Council of British International Schools (COBIS); in association with ISC and UK Trade & Investment. – TradeArabia News Service