Key facts about Dubai private schools
Counts as of 24 September 2026, read from KHDA documents.
1How much do Dubai private schools cost in 2026–27?
AED 2,859 – 134,000
a year for a child aged 5–6 (Year 1 / KG2), as published for 2026–27
On Dubai School Atlas, 207 of the 217 schools with a 2026–27 KHDA Fees Fact Sheet publish a tuition for age 5–6 (Year 1 in British schools, KG2 in most others): from AED 2,859 to AED 134,000 a year, and 72 of them charge under AED 20,000. For 2026–27 KHDA, Dubai’s school regulator, allowed no fee increase at any private school.
Tuition excludes transport, uniforms, books and exam fees; school transport in 2026–27 is typically AED 5,500 to 9,225 a year. See every school’s tuition for your child’s year group, lowest first, or the total cost of schooling to the final year. Not sure of the year group? Work it out from the birth date.
2How are Dubai schools rated?
155 of 228
schools are rated Good or better, as of 24 September 2026
KHDA rates each inspected school from Outstanding (best) to Very weak; Good is the level the UAE expects of every school. Of Dubai’s 228 open private schools, 207 hold a rating: 23 Outstanding, 47 Very good, 85 Good and 52 Acceptable; none is Weak or Very weak, and 21 are not yet rated.
Most ratings are from 2023–24: 197 of the 207 come from that year’s reports, because in 2024–25 and 2025–26 KHDA ran full inspections only at some schools; it resumes them for all schools in 2026–27. What KHDA ratings mean explains each level.
3Which schools teach which curriculum, and where?
106 British schools
plus 38 American, 31 CBSE (Indian) and 31 IB, in 58 areas
Of the 228 schools, 106 teach the British curriculum (Year 1 tuition AED 4,938 – 134,000 in 2026–27), 38 the American curriculum (KG2 AED 9,245 – 69,961), 31 CBSE, the Indian national curriculum (Grade 1 AED 2,980 – 26,723), and 31 teach or offer the IB (Year 1 AED 23,330 – 104,999).
All 228 schools, A to Z, are listed by area, from Abu Hail to Umm Suqeim, and there are pages for schools near Dubai Marina, JBR and JLT (12 within 5 km), Downtown, Business Bay and DIFC (20) and Palm Jumeirah (7).
4Where do the numbers come from?
1,906 reports
KHDA inspection reports and 532 Fees Fact Sheets on file, checked 16–24 September 2026
Every rating, fee and quote on Dubai School Atlas is read from a KHDA document and links to its page. The counts above describe the schools open today; Market Statistics count by academic year, 2015–16 to 2024–25, so there Dubai has 237 private schools in 2024–25 and the median Year 5 tuition that year is AED 31,916.
How each figure is worked out is in About the data; data stories are in Insights; KHDA’s terms are explained in the Guides and the Glossary.