When it comes to viability, not all schools are created equal

We need a more nuanced appraisal of our education sector, argues Michael Lambert

A recent article in The National suggested that private schools are battling to survive amid increasing competition for fewer pupils. The broad variety in the educational landscape of Dubai, which includes 173 schools and 17 different curricula, requires a far more nuanced appraisal if we wish to fully understand what is at stake here.

We often talk about the UAE's educational landscape as though it has a singular identity. Take for example discussions on the UAE’s international PISA and TIMSS rankings. We speak as though the outcomes of these tests are the reflection of a coherent and homogenous national curriculum, which we can control and improve as one unit. In fact, our rankings depend on the average results of pupils taught according to a broad variety of national curricula, each of which is designed differently for different ends and is then repackaged as a national outcome.

So when it comes to increased competition between schools for fewer pupils, we really need to fractionally distil the crude image of a unified marketplace into its component parts and consider them separately. Take for example, the British not-for-profit schools in Dubai such as JESS, DESC and Dubai College. These schools are highly oversubscribed with a chronic undersupply of places for those who would like to attend. There is no battle for survival here.

At 93.5 per cent capacity, not-for-profit schools in general are doing well, according to a report last year titled A place in the Sun: More Seats for Students, More Choices for Parents. This compared with an 86.2 per cent occupancy in the for-profit schools. Again, comparing the schools rated “outstanding” that enjoy a 98.5 per cent occupancy with those rated “unsatisfactory” that still enjoyed 79.5 per cent occupancy, the market still looks buoyant to me. (Imagine being able to supply an unsatisfactory product in any other industry and still enjoy this level of demand.)

What is likely to happen, however, as the total number of school places begins to exceed the total number of pupils is that we will see a race to the top, or at least out of the relegation zone. Annual inspection has incredibly helped to drive up standards in Dubai schools, but while once you could enjoy 79.5 per cent occupancy as an unsatisfactory school, there will now be an additional incentive for profit-making schools to improve: market share. By leaving improvement up to market forces, the economic imperative will compel the owners of profit-driven schools to take a renewed interest in school improvement to ensure they are not left as “unsatisfactory” schools.

As the article mentioned, this may mean that lower-income schools get stuck in a vicious cycle in which they cannot attract good teachers and so standards decline. Again, we need to unpack the lower-income schools into those that are rated outstanding and prepared to reinvest their revenues on staff, pupils and school in general. Size in this case does not matter; philosophy does. With some investment companies promising more than 20 per cent profit from running a school, there is clearly a lot more revenue generated by some schools that could be reinvested for the greater good of education. The question is whether everyone has the appetite to do this.

One thing is clear: our educational landscape is anything but homogenous and the survival of schools will depend on many factors including rating, curriculum and the profit motive of schools.

The current marketplace, however, is geared up for large corporations already established in the region to take out considerable loans to buy or lease land and then build buildings, charge for places and turn their profit.

Therefore, in light of what we do know about the educational marketplace, we need to think creatively. We need a concerted national effort to build more outstanding not-for-profit community schools, similar to the old public schools in England. These charity schools used to be established by wealthy benefactors and their mission was to educate poor scholars. Money for buildings, land, books and even teachers’ salaries were gifted and the only incentive was social improvement.

This could be possible if both Emiratis and expatriates with an interest in developing this nation came together to crowdfund new schools offering the most popular curricula with a single aim: to benefit all our children. This way the market would be populated by those schools in demand by parents and pupils and the fight for survival would take place between unsatisfactory profit-making schools. This may be a pipe dream, but as they say necessity is the mother of invention.

Michael Lambert is headmaster of Dubai College