UAE teacher salaries: 400 teaching jobs on offer at schools

Schools in the Emirates are recruiting for a variety of positions, some starting as soon as January

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sep 09, 2012 - Students and parents arrive at St Andrews School in in Al Safa. The group Dubai Education has said they will now take over the management of the school. ( Jaime Puebla / The National Newspaper )

The Dubai Wellington International school opened its doors to students for its sixth year. Along with a fresh crop of students is a new Principal, Keith Miller, second right. Lee Hoagland / The National

Students take part in PE at the GEMS Wellington International School in Dubai. Lee Hoagland / The National

Students at the Queeba Girls School in Ras Al Khaimah queue to receive their school books for the year. Razan Alzayani / The National

Sixth Grade students play a game at their first English lesson of the year at the Queeba Girls School in Ras Al Khaimah. Razan Alzayani / The National

Kylie Snyder, 15, who just moved with her family from Ohio, in a art lesson at the American Academy for Girls in Mizhar. Razan Alzayani / The National

Kylie's sister, nine year old Taylor packs away her books at the American Academy for Girls in Mizhar. Razan Alzayani / The National

Ahmed Al Maamari, an Emirati teacher on his first day with grade three students at Al Aasimah School in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National

Students attend the first day of college at the men's campus of UAE University in Al Ain. Sammy Dallal / The National

Related: A guide to earning potential at government and private schools

Schools across the Emirates are recruiting to fill hundreds of vacancies – with start dates ranging from next term to the next academic year.

More than 400 jobs are on offer in the country according to Tes – formerly Times Educational Supplement –- one of the largest job sites for the education sector.

In February, almost 500 teaching vacancies in the Emirates were advertised on the same site.

Major school groups in the country including Gems Education, Taaleem, Aldar, and several independent schools have advertised jobs.

What jobs are on offer?

There are several opportunities advertised for primary school teachers in Abu Dhabi, where recruiters are looking for an immediate start.

Subject teachers also have a wide variety of opportunities with jobs offered in design technology, computer science, sciences, English, economics and business studies, among others.

Some schools are looking for inclusion specialists and counsellors. Positions for school principals, vice-principals and year head positions are also on offer, but are few in number.

Gems Education has many roles advertised, from teaching music and media to performing arts and mathematics.

Foundation stage teachers can apply for an immediate opening at Gems Metropole School.

Safa British School Dubai is looking to recruit a secondary geography teacher, a secondary mathematics teacher, and a secondary business teacher, and applications need to be submitted by December 9.

Ajyal International School in Mohamed bin Zayed City is looking for a primary teacher to start in January.

Al Mamoura Academy in Abu Dhabi has a spot for a primary class teacher with a chance to become head of year.

Cranleigh Abu Dhabi also has a few positions open, including one for an Islamic and Social Studies teacher and for an Arabic teacher.

Where are the jobs?

While the majority of jobs are in Dubai, there are some listed in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.

What are the work requirements?

Common requirements include a bachelor's degree in education or subject-related degree and a PGCE / PGDE or equivalent teaching qualification.

Some American schools said experience of working in an American curriculum school would be desirable.

Some schools also ask for a minimum of one year experience after graduation.

In most cases specialists need to have proven experience in teaching the designated subjects.

Taaleem employs 1,200 teachers at 17 schools in the Emirates. All of their teachers need to be fully qualified and approved by Adek or KHDA, the private education regulators of Abu Dabi and Dubai respectively, said Kate Fisher, head of human resources at Taaleem.

"Primary school teachers need to have a qualified teaching degree while secondary school teachers need a postgraduate education degree as well as a specialised degree in the subject they teach," Ms Fisher said.

It is not necessary for teachers to have worked abroad.

UAE teacher salaries: How much can you expect to earn?

Teacher’s salaries in the UAE can vary from one school to another.

Schools have not mentioned salaries in their postings but highlighted the fact that teachers would get tax-free salaries, furnished accommodation, medical insurance and annual air tickets.

On average, teachers in the UAE can expect starting salaries between Dh9,000 ($2,450) and Dh15,000 a month.

Earlier this year, The National reported that at British and US curriculum schools, a typical salary for graduates with up to two years’ experience could be between Dh9,000 and Dh11,000 per month, with free accommodation. Those hoping to become a principal can expect to secure a salary of between Dh25,000 and Dh40,000 a month.

According to Indeed and Gulf Talent recruitment sites, some lower-end private Indian curriculum schools offer between Dh3,500 and Dh6,000 a month, with no accommodation allowance.

That rises to about Dh8,000 to Dh10,000 for mid-range Indian curriculum schools and upwards of Dh13,000 a month for top-rated schools, plus accommodation.

Optimistic outlook for sector

Some UAE schools have announced that they will lift pay freezes, starting in September 2022.

Improved enrolments and an acknowledgement that schools need to retain staff are two key factors influencing plans to remove pay freezes introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

From next year, some teachers will receive pay increases and incremental raises that were put on hold.

Ashwin Assomull, head of LEK Consulting’s Global Education Practice, said enrolment at schools in the region and beyond were bouncing back after an initial Covid-19 impact.

"Everyone valued what schools did when people were at home during the pandemic.

"Definitely there is demand for more private school enrolments [more people seeking admission at schools] which means there is more demand for teachers, which means that salaries will adjust."

He said in many countries, such as the United States, many teachers had opted for early retirement during the pandemic, which lead to a drop in the supply of teachers and a consequent push in teacher’s pay.

"There is a strong demand for private education and there will be an increase in wages over time,” he said.

Schools looking to recruit locally

Taaleem, a school developer in the Emirates, is already looking to recruit staff for its schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the academic year 2022-2023.

The education group, which runs more than a dozen schools in the Emirates, is holding a recruitment fair on Saturday, November 27 in Dubai. Teachers can apply by submitting their resumes.

"The talent pool of teachers we have in the UAE has definitely grown in the last five years, given the fact that we don’t need to recruit internationally every time for experienced teachers,” Ms Fisher said.

"The number of experienced expat teachers in the UAE is rising because of the number of new school openings we have witnessed in the past five years.

“We usually fly internationally in January and February to recruit teachers for the following year academic year, however, we wanted to reach out to teachers already in the UAE prior to international travel."