Abu Dhabi to build three new charter schools free for Emirati pupils

The Zayed City institutions will welcome children in September 2024

An artist's impression of a charter school that will be built in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Abu Dhabi Investment Office

Abu Dhabi is to have three new charter schools that will be free for Emirati pupils.

The schools in Zayed City will be ready to welcome pupils in September 2024. They are expected to accommodate 5,360 pupils.

Charter schools work on the public-private model, under which the government builds the infrastructure and then lets a private partner manage the school.

The construction contract has been awarded to Australian company Plenary Group and Belgian group BESIX, but the private school operator will be decided later.

The new campuses will be built sustainably with all the modern facilities and will be better spaced out to limit the spread of Covid-19.

“With its world-class standards, the three new schools will empower more pupils to access quality education opportunities, to learn and thrive in a healthy and safe environment,” said Dr Tareq Al Ameri, executive director of the licensing sector at Abu Dhabi's Department of Education and Knowledge.

The concept of charter schools was introduced in Abu Dhabi in 2019 when the management of a dozen government schools in the emirate was taken over by private sector operators.

They are free for their exclusively Emirati pupils, who live in the neighbourhood where the school is located.

Currently, there are 16 charter schools in Abu Dhabi city and Al Ain offering the American curriculum to children in primary school. Higher classes will be added as pupils graduate.

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