Number of high school students in UAE 2013/2014-2019/2020

The number of high school students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the academic year 2019/2020 was approximately 318.4 thousand students.

UAE former education system

The current education system of the United Arab Emirates has been developed only over the past 50 years in the first half of the 20th century. Education in the country, before oil discovery and independence from the United Kingdom, used to mainly depend on Islam. Educational circles led by Imams took place in mosques. As the education system expanded to the more modern forms, it was only available for male students in its early days. Modern education systems were founded promptly following the newly discovered petrol wealth in 1971. The number of primary and secondary school students in the country was expected to exceed one thousand million in 2022. In the academic year of 2017/2018, about half of school students were females.

UAE current education system

  The current education system is a K-12 school system; early childhood education, primary, lower and upper secondary education, followed by four-year bachelor’s degrees, and two-year master’s and doctoral degrees. Primary and secondary public-school education is compulsory and provided free of charge for Emirati nationals. There are two types of secondary schools, one focusing on technical skills, and the other focusing on academic subjects. Although the number of public and private schools in the year 2017/2018 was similar, more than 70 percent of school students were in private schools, while more than 66 percent of higher education students were in private higher education institutions.