Dubai’s early childhood centres have achieved annual growth in the number of children enrolled for the second year in a row, with an increase of 16% during the current academic year 2023-2024 compared to the previous academic year. The current academic year witnessed the opening of 25 new early childhood centres, bringing the total number of early childhood centres in Dubai to about 274 centres, receiving more than 27,000 children, including more than 2,500 Emirati children.
A report issued by the Authority entitled “Early Childhood Centres in Dubai… Towards a Bright Future” showed that about 243 early childhood centres in Dubai open their doors to children throughout the year. The report also noted the diversity of early childhood centres in the emirate in terms of the diversity of their students and the curricula or educational programmes applied in them, as 134 centres include children from 20 nationalities or more. Early childhood centres in Dubai also apply about 16 diverse educational curricula or programmes, which reflects the attractiveness of the early childhood sector for educational service providers and parents.
“Early childhood centres play a pivotal role in providing education and care for children at this important age, which forms the basis for building their personality, developing their skills and their social and emotional development at an early age,” said Aisha Abdullah Miran, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai. “The continued growth in the number of early childhood centres in Dubai, in addition to the growth in the number of children enrolled in them for the second year in a row, is a clear indication of the promising future opportunities in this important sector, and the growing awareness among parents of the importance of enrolling their children in early childhood to ensure they receive education and care services at an early age in their lives, based on the importance of this stage in brain growth and development.”
“International studies show that students who attend early childhood education outperform their peers in mathematics, science and reading skills in international assessments, which highlights the importance of providing children with quality early childhood education and care and providing them with enriching learning experiences. We are grateful to the managers and teachers of early childhood centres in Dubai for their dedication to providing safe, joyful and stimulating learning environments for children, and for their valuable contributions to creating a prosperous future for all in Dubai. We also urge parents to enrol their children in early childhood education and take advantage of the diverse options that this important sector provides in the children’s education and learning journey,” she added.
Dubai’s early childhood centres apply 16 diverse educational curricula and programmes in the main teaching languages, which vary between Arabic, English and French, while many early childhood centres in the emirate use additional languages, including Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and others.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum is the most widely applied in the early childhood sector in Dubai, as it is applied in 215 early childhood centres, followed by the Montessori curriculum, which is applied in 20 centres, then the American curriculum, which is applied in 8 centres, in addition to other diverse curricula.
The report indicated that 69% of students enrolled in early childhood centres are between the ages of two and four years, noting that nearly 80% of children attend early childhood centres in Dubai 5 days a week.
The early childhood centers include more than 1,700 teachers and 2,500 teaching assistants.
Parents can benefit from the service of searching for early childhood centers in Dubai according to geographical location, through the educational institutions directory available on Knowledge Authority Website In addition to the Authority’s application on smartphones.
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