The first of two schools that opened in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for students has opened, with more than 50% of pupils attending classes.
The Emirati government is pushing to boost enrollment at schools across the country, but there have been problems with some of the institutions opening.
The opening of the new schools comes amid the global financial crisis, which has forced many of the country’s schools to close.
The government has said it will open up some schools for students to enrol in in the coming months, but this will be limited to children of the UAE citizens.
In September, the UAE Ministry of Education and Science said that only 6% of Emirati students were enrolled in school, according to the National Institute of Education, which said it had been working to reach more of the population.
However, the Emirates National Center for Education and Information Technology (NICE) said the number of students was only 1% of the adult population, and only one of the three major private universities in the country was offering more than 100,000 students a year.
It said the education ministry was currently analysing the results of the study and planned to announce a revised target in October.
The new schools will open in three areas, and will provide students with a full education from day one.
The first school will open on the southern outskirts of Abu Dhabi, the second in the northern city of Dubai, and the third in the southern city of Sharjah.
The first two schools will have classes in English and a mixture of subjects, while the third will have English as the primary language.
Students can choose from a variety of subjects in subjects such as economics, business, and technology.
The education ministry said that the schools will provide free laptops, books, and supplies to students, and they will also offer free lessons.
The centres of learning will be located in the city of Jumeirah, in Abu Dhabi’s south, and in the Gulf city of Abu Asira.
The schools will be part of a new initiative by the education minister to provide basic education to all Emiratis.
“We want to help them realise their full potential, because education is the foundation of economic development,” NICE said.
It added that the centres of education will help the children learn basic skills, as well as give them a sense of belonging.
“There will be no gap in our schools between students from different socio-economic groups, which means that there will be more opportunities for the children from different backgrounds to learn,” the ministry said.