50,000 schools needed across Gulf by 2020 – research

More than 50,000 new schools are required in the GCC by 2020 to cope with rising demand in the education sector, it has been claimed.

The International and Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF) has warned that new schools are needed to address an anticipated surge in the Gulf student population from 12.6 million in 2015 to an estimated 15 million by 2020.
Citing figures from Alpen Capital’s GCC Education Industry report, published in May, Rhona Greenhill, co-founder of IPSEF, said: “Experts estimate about 51,000 schools will be needed by 2020 to accommodate the growing demand for schools throughout the GCC.

“This will be a significant addition of 7,000 more schools than the current number to address the burgeoning school student population across the region.”

According to the report, 41,678 new schools will be established in the GCC in the public education sector by 2020, as well as 9,301 private schools.
Of these, 44,441 new schools are expected to be set up in Saudi Arabia, 2,054 in Oman and 1,497 in Kuwait. A total of 1,406 new schools are expected to be established in the UAE, 1,107 in Qatar and 503 in Bahrain, Alpen Capital said.
Its report identified more than 500 educational projects totalling $50 million in various stages of development across the Gulf.

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