UAE: Visitors and students swell at Sharjah Education Fair

Sharjah, UAE The Sharjah International Education Show, which has seen a nearly twofold growth for its ninth edition, attracted almost one quarter more visitors on its first day, than the previous year.
The total number of visitors reached 6,272 topping last year’s 5,007.
The three day exhibition, which was opened by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah at the Expo Centre Sharjah on Wednesday, saw scores of schools visiting on the first day.

Organisers said the increase in visitors was probably due to the tie up between Expo Centre Sharjah and AFAIRS Exhibitions and Media of India, which paved the way for the Great India Education Fair coming to the UAE and the GCC for the first time.

Together, the shows are hosting some 165 higher education institutions from across the world and for the first time, the International Education Show was also hosted alongside the National Career Exhibition.

Talking about the Indian theme introduced at the 2013 edition Director-General at the Expo Centre Sharjah Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa said:

“The special section on Indian education was made possible through the participation of the Great India Education Fair and has proved to be a masterstroke, resulting in attracting more Indian schools and students to the show, which is much above the normal flow of visitors.”

Indian education

There are more than 100 Indian schools in the UAE, and Indian schools in Dubai itself has a student population of over 67,000. While some of the students decide to complete their higher education in the UAE, a big majority usually go back to their home country.

“The Great India Education Fair will showcase the strength of the Indian education system and will enable students and parents from the UAE and the region to gather greater knowledge about the Indian education system and allow greater interaction between institutions’ representatives,” said AFAIRS Exhibitions and Media marking and projects director Vivek Shukla.

Moves have also been made to offer more options to students and parents looking into further education possibilities.

“There has been a huge shift in the dynamics of Indian education in the last 10 years. With the introduction of the Central Board of Secondary Education International (CBSEi) syllabus, International Baccalaureate (IB), and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), parents now have more options in education as well,” added Shukla, noting that the most beneficial factor for any student to study in India is the cost.

“Indian education standards are high. We’ve created a reputation that is now almost taken for granted. But parents must realise that we are much cheaper compared to the cost of education in other countries.”

Aman, an Indian student, and his father were exploring educational programmes and institutions at the show: “A personal visit and one-to-one talks with the representatives of participating institutions can’t be compared to any amount of internet research or word-of-mouth recommendations. I can surely say that this visit has helped me in reducing my shortlist of prospective programmes and institutions,” Aman said.

Focus on schools

As part of the exhibition, several boarding and day-schools in India also participated. Schools like the Nerja Modi School in Jaipur, Delhi Public School in Panipat City, Kimberley — the Boarding School in Chandigarh and Scad World School in Coimbatore, are among some of the schools that participated in the exhibition.

Executive Director of Nerja Modi School Sunita Sabarwal said: “This is the first time that we’ve come to Sharjah and we believe that we have a truly international school campus and we have what students in the UAE need in terms of education. Also, education here is expensive, our costing is much cheaper compared to schools over here,” she said.

The 23-acre campus caters to students from Primary to Senior-secondary level and has specialised coaching for English and Islamic studies.

She added that the school is here to build a bond with the Indian community in the UAE: “We are looking to build a bond with the Indian community here. We simultaneously teach students CBSE, IB and IGCSE syllabus,” said Sabarwal.