60 New Affordable Schools to Open in Dubai by 2033

Dubai will add 60 affordable schools by 2033, creating around 120,000 new student places to broaden access to lower-cost private education and ease the financial burden on families. The initiative combines incentives for private operators with cost-reduction measures to make tuition more accessible while maintaining high academic standards. The Policy to Expand and Promote Affordable High-Quality Schools was approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, and forms part of the Dubai Education Strategy 2033. The plan envisages an average of seven to eight new affordable schools opening each year to meet the 2033 target, with each school designed to accommodate roughly 2,000 students. The policy lowers operating costs for approved schools through discounted government administrative fees and reduced land leasing costs for new plots, with the expectation that these savings will be passed on to families through more accessible fee tiers. The schools will be overseen by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority to ensure high academic standards at lower price points. The policy comes amid growing private school enrolment in recent years and aims to diversify options across neighbourhoods, complementing the existing landscape of 227 private schools serving more than 387,000 students from 185 nationalities.