Sharjah Opens the 2026-27 School Year With 204,000 Pupils, Six New Private Schools and 135 Licensed Schools: SPEA

Published: 2026-08-30

Sharjah’s private schools open the 2026-27 academic year on 2026-08-31 with more than 204,000 pupils enrolled, six new private schools and a network of 135 licensed private schools, the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) announced on 2026-08-29. The authority also licensed seven new nurseries, taking the total to 161, and five new early childhood centres. Before the first bell SPEA completed 132 field visits to check school readiness, cleared 2,737 school buses under the approved safety requirements, ran 321 training courses for teaching and administrative staff and recruited 114 Emirati teachers through the “Proud to be a Teacher” programme. Three of the new schools follow the Indian curriculum and three the American curriculum, according to Gulf News.

What SPEA announced for 2026-27

The figures were released under the authority’s back-to-school campaign “My School, My Family” two days before the start of term. They describe the whole private education system of the emirate, from nurseries to Grade 12, which SPEA licenses and inspects separately from the federal public schools run by the Ministry of Education.

Dr Muhadditha Yahya Al Hashimi, Chairperson of SPEA and President of the Sharjah Education Academy, said the campaign is meant to go beyond a slogan and to strengthen the relationship between schools and families, with parents and educators sharing responsibility for pupils’ academic and personal development, Gulf News reported.

Six new schools: Indian and American curricula

SPEA did not publish the names, locations or capacities of the six new schools; the only breakdown available is by curriculum, three Indian and three American, as reported by Gulf News. American-curriculum schools run an English-medium programme that ends with a US high school diploma, and Indian-curriculum schools follow the CBSE or other Indian boards on a March-to-March year. No new British or International Baccalaureate schools were announced for Sharjah this year, unlike in Dubai, where KHDA listed four UK-curriculum and three IB schools among 26 new private institutions for 2026-27.

With 135 licensed schools, Sharjah’s private school network grew by 4.7% in one year in terms of institutions. SPEA has not disclosed how many seats the six schools add or how enrolment compares with 2025-26, so the growth in pupils cannot be calculated from the release.

Nurseries and early childhood centres

The seven new nurseries bring the licensed total to 161, an increase of 4.5% on the 154 that operated before. The five early childhood centres are listed separately as a newly established licensed category, which is the same distinction Dubai’s KHDA uses for centres that combine nursery care with a structured early-years curriculum. For families with children under four, the practical effect is more licensed places close to the residential districts of Sharjah City and the Central and Eastern Regions, which SPEA covered in its inspection plan.

Readiness checks: 132 visits and 2,737 buses

The inspection round started on 2026-08-26, when Rashed Al Mazmi, Head of the Violations Section at SPEA, announced that the Compliance Department had formed field teams and assigned schools to inspectors across Sharjah City, the Central Region and the Eastern Region. The visits assessed school buildings and classrooms, staffing levels for teachers and administrators, medical clinics and laboratories, and compliance with health, safety and security requirements. On 2026-08-27 Omar Al Ghefili, Head of the Monitoring Section, reported the completion of the Eastern Region visits, which also covered general cleanliness standards.

School transport was checked by several agencies at once:

• SPEA cleared 2,737 school buses under the approved safety requirements.
• Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) announced on 2026-08-24 an intensified inspection plan for bus readiness and operator compliance, driver training with the Sharjah Driving Institute and joint campaigns with SPEA. Its chairman, Yousef Khamis Al Othmani, linked the plan to the UAE’s Year of the Family 2026.
• Sharjah Civil Defence Authority trained 1,200 bus drivers and supervisors, 700 and 500 respectively, at a two-day workshop on 2026-08-26 and 2026-08-27 at the Cultural Palace Theatre, covering evacuation procedures and end-of-trip checks that no pupil is left on board.
• Sharjah Police announced on 2026-08-21 extra patrols at school intersections during drop-off and pick-up, bus safety checks and the Ma’an service developed with SPEA, which lets bus drivers and supervisors send an emergency alert with location directly to the police operations centre.

The bus monitoring builds on the “Your Children Are Safe” project, which SPEA launched in February 2020 as a digital platform that tracks private school trips and allows quick communication in emergencies.

Teachers: 321 courses and 114 Emirati recruits

SPEA delivered 321 training courses to teaching and administrative staff before the term, and 114 Emirati teachers joined private schools through the “Proud to be a Teacher” programme, which prepares UAE nationals for teaching roles in private schools and opened its fifth intake in August 2025, according to Sharjah24. The programme is SPEA’s instrument for raising the number of Emirati teachers in the private sector; no quota on schools was announced with the figures.

The 2026-27 calendar for Sharjah private schools

SPEA published the academic calendar on 2026-08-03. It applies to all private schools in Sharjah except those following the Indian and Pakistani curricula.

Schools on the Indian and Pakistani calendars began their 2026-27 year on 2026-03-30, one week later than the originally scheduled 2026-03-23, after SPEA accepted requests from school principals to allow more time to assess conditions during the regional security situation in March. This is why the 204,000 figure describes the full private education population of Sharjah rather than the number of pupils physically returning on 2026-08-31.

Sharjah and Dubai side by side

The two emirates announced their 2026-27 openings within four days of each other, KHDA on 2026-08-25 and SPEA on 2026-08-29. The releases use different categories, so only a few lines are directly comparable.

Dubai’s openings are in the British and IB segment; Sharjah’s new capacity is in the Indian and American segments. Sharjah has not announced a fee freeze for 2026-27, so any fee change at an existing school remains subject to SPEA’s normal approval process.

What this means for relocating families and business owners

For founders and executives who plan to settle in Sharjah, or to live there while operating a company in Dubai, the release confirms three practical points:

1. Capacity is being added in the Indian and American segments this year, while British and IB families will still be choosing among the existing schools or looking to Dubai.
2. The main term starts on 2026-08-31 and the year ends on 2027-07-01; Indian and Pakistani schools run on a March-to-March cycle, which changes the timing of a family move for those curricula.
3. Enrolment requires a UAE residence visa for the child, and schools ask for attested previous school reports; our guide to digital attestation of education documents in the UAE explains the procedure. The usual sequence is the sponsor’s employment or company visa first, then dependant visas, then school registration.

For investors, 135 schools, 161 nurseries and 5 early childhood centres describe a licensed sector in which every new institution needs an SPEA licence in addition to a trade licence, and in which inspection, transport and staffing requirements are checked by four separate authorities before each term. Education businesses in Sharjah are therefore structured around the regulator’s requirements from the outset, which affects the choice of legal form and location.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital assists founders, executives and investors moving to the UAE with their families and businesses. We handle company formation in Dubai, Sharjah and the wider UAE, including regulated activities such as education and training, arrange work visas, Golden Visa and residency for the sponsor and dependants so that school enrolment is not delayed, and manage corporate bank account opening so that tuition, rent and payroll are paid from a UAE account from the first month.

Conclusion

Sharjah opens 2026-27 with more than 204,000 private pupils, 135 licensed schools after six new openings, 161 nurseries and five early childhood centres. The preparation figures, 132 inspections, 2,737 cleared buses, 321 training courses and 114 Emirati teachers, show a regulator that checks buildings, staff and transport before term rather than after. The gaps in the release are the names and capacities of the new schools and the year-on-year change in enrolment; until SPEA publishes them, the growth of the emirate’s private sector can be measured in institutions, not in seats.

FAQ

How many private schools are there in Sharjah in 2026-27?

Sharjah has 135 licensed private schools in the 2026-27 academic year after six new schools opened, according to the Sharjah Private Education Authority’s release of 2026-08-29. Three of the new schools follow the Indian curriculum and three the American curriculum. The emirate also has 161 licensed nurseries, seven of them new, and five newly licensed early childhood centres.

When do Sharjah private schools start the 2026-27 academic year?

Classes start on 2026-08-31 for all private schools except those on the Indian and Pakistani curricula, which began their 2026-27 year on 2026-03-30. The winter break runs from 2026-12-14 to 2027-01-03, the spring break from 2027-04-05 to 2027-04-08, and the academic year ends on 2027-07-01.

How many pupils attend private schools in Sharjah?

More than 204,000 pupils are enrolled in Sharjah’s private education system in 2026-27, according to SPEA. The figure covers all curricula, including Indian and Pakistani schools that started their year in March 2026, so it is larger than the number of pupils returning to class on 2026-08-31.

How are school buses checked in Sharjah before the new term?

SPEA cleared 2,737 school buses under the approved safety requirements for 2026-27. The Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority runs field inspections and driver training, the Sharjah Civil Defence Authority trained 1,200 drivers and supervisors on 2026-08-26 and 2026-08-27, and Sharjah Police operates the Ma’an service, which lets drivers send an emergency alert with location directly to the police operations centre.