How To Apply For Schools In Sharjah?
- By James Alex
- •
- 03 Mar, 2018
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As an expat, the school selection and application processes in the UAE can seem fairly daunting at first. There’s a ton of options to choose from, and it’s very common to see the parents rush into an ill-advised decision which they later end up regretting.
To make sure you don’t follow in their footsteps and ruin your child’s academic and professional career, this article has been designed to guide you through the school selection process in Sharjah and to educate you on the steps you’ll need to get to get your child enrolled.
Let’s begin.
While this article is written for parents in Sharjah, the general process and considerations will stay the same in all 7 emirates of the UAE.
Curriculum comes first
The first and important step in the process is to choose an academic curriculum.
Public schools aren’t available for expats in the UAE, so parents must select between one of the many private institutions which are teaching the curricula from a wide variety of countries.
The major choices are:
- American
- British
- Indian
- International Baccalaureate
- Australian
- Pakistani
It’s almost impossible to stress how important this decision will be for your child’s future. The curriculum, to a great extent, determines the standard of education students receive, the international examinations they give, and the quality of universities they’ll be eligible to apply for once they graduate.
Here, we recommend checking out the more well-established British and American schools in Sharjah. The UK and US education systems are the most popular in the world, and both curricula have been structured to give your child the best chance for academic and professional success.
Pro Tip: No matter which curriculum you decide to go for, make sure you research the course content thoroughly before making jumping into a decision. You might not get the chance to shift schools later if you change your mind.
Start Shortlisting Schools
The next step is to decide how many schools you’ll be applying to. This decision will depend upon your child’s age group and the curriculum chosen earlier.
As a thumb rule, it’s generally advised that you apply to as many institutions as financially possible if your child is under the age of 10.
British and American schools in Sharjah and the rest of the UAE have waiting lists that can extend to over 5 years long, and your first choice school might not have availability when your child comes of age.
Applying everywhere ensures that you won’t have to waste another year in the process in case admission wasn’t granted this time around.
For older age groups, applying to 3 high-quality institutions should be sufficient.
What to look for while shortlisting
Aside from the curriculum, you’ll need to consider the following factors:
- Fee structure
- Distance from home
- Travel Times
- Size
- Reputation
- Academic Record
- Qualifications of teaching staff
- Campus facilities
- Extracurricular activities
Organize your priorities on a piece of paper and start going through the pros and cons of each shortlisted school with regards to the list above. You’ll eventually find 2-3 institutions that stand out from the crowd.
School visits
School visits are essential during the selection process. Until you go visit the shortlisted institutions personally and see their campus for yourself, you won’t know if they’re actually offering the standard of education and facilities they’ve advertised on their website.
A school that looks great online might have a completely different vibe in-person. Make sure you tour the campus extensively and, in particular, pay close attention to the teaching staff and their interaction with students during classes.
When to apply
While all schools in the UAE are bound to the same academic calendar as provided by the Ministry of Education, application deadlines can vary between different institutions. In most cases, you’ll find this information on the school’s website.
Keep in mind that for children under the ages of 10, you might need to fill out applications 2-3 years in advance because of the aforementioned waiting lists.
There’s also a lot of documentation that needs to be sorted out before submitting the application. Make sure you start the process as early as possible.
Documents to submit
Most schools in the UAE generally
require the same list of documents for admission:
- The completed application
form
- A copy of the
parent/guardian’s passport
- Transfer letter
signed by the principal at the child’s previous school
- The child’s birth
certificate
- Immunization and
medical records
- 10 passport-sized
pictures
- Proof of payment for the application fee
Some institutions will also ask for further documents like the child’s previous report cards, behavior reports, etc., so make sure you check with the school’s administration before submitting the application form.
What if you don’t get in?
It’s extremely rare that a child doesn’t gain admission in any school they’ve applied to, but there are a few special cases.
If this unfortunate incident happens, you can always look into institutions teaching other curricula, homeschooling, or online courses.
Early years of the life of any child, play an important role in his/her personality development. There is no doubt that education plays a crucial part in this development. The primary education plays the role of first brick, which should be set perfectly to avoid problems later on.
Schools have a great responsibility of providing quality education and develop the personality of children according to the modern footprint of society. The United States is enjoying the status of a superpower in the world, due to its competent workforce, which was trained efficiently in schools.
Other countries of the world are trying to follow the footsteps and introducing the same curriculum and qualities as American schools. UAE is no exception, as American primary schools in Dubaiare working efficiently in the personality development of children.
