The UAE leads the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in early childhood education participation, with preprimary enrolment reaching about 82 percent, according to new analysis from Arthur D. Little (ADL).
That puts the country closest among GCC markets to near-universal preprimary enrolment. With kindergarten participation already comparatively advanced, ADL says much of the UAE’s remaining opportunity lies in the nursery years.
The findings appear in ADL’s new Viewpoint, From Cradle to Classroom. The GCC has about 2.6 million children aged three to five, and reaching a 95 percent enrolment benchmark by 2035 would require roughly 11,600 new kindergartens and 116,000 additional educators. About 94 percent of that build stems from existing access and capacity needs rather than population growth, and Saudi Arabia would account for around three-quarters of the expansion.
Extending provision to nurseries under a 40 percent enrolment scenario would lift the requirement to about 40,000 institutions and 224,000 educators.
ADL describes a “double return” from high-quality programmes. They strengthen the human capital of tomorrow while enabling more parents, particularly women, to join the workforce today. Research cited in the report puts returns at about 13 percent per child per year, or around US$6 for every US$1 invested.
Amr Kazimi, Principal at ADL, said the UAE can build on its foundation by strengthening quality and extending provision into the earliest years. Yigit Saf, Partner at ADL, said early childhood education should be seen as economic infrastructure rather than a social cost.
The Viewpoint identifies three constraints to address alongside capacity: workforce shortages, quality and regulation and parental engagement. It also calls for stronger coordination across education, healthcare and labour policy, along with investment in educator quality and carefully governed use of AI-enabled learning tools.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
