Experts have stated that Saudi Arabia is the "land of opportunity" for K–12 schools with intentions for worldwide growth, citing the country's initiatives to draw in more foreign companies. Due to the pandemic, the market for foreign schools has changed, making it "tougher" to operate in places like Southeast Asia and making teacher recruitment more difficult than ever, speakers at the IPSEF Global conference in London said. The conference intended for independent and international schools seeking prospects overseas covered topics such as how to start an educational institution abroad and which marketplaces to consider. Also, the topic of Saudi Arabia was brought up repeatedly by speakers during the course of the event.
“Saudi truly is the land of opportunity,” claimed Anita Gleave, founder, and CEO of Chatsworth Schools and its worldwide division Blenheim Schools, which has launched Beech Hall, its initial school, in Riyadh. She added, there is "endless opportunity" for "high-quality British education" worldwide. Contrasting several other nations Saudi Arabia has "a local opportunity" for foreign schools, said Vipul Bhargava, a partner at the boutique advising firm Novistra.
One million local kids are reportedly enrolled in private schools, and 1,000 additional facilities are needed. The panel stated that Saudi Arabia is a very appealing location for international and British schools since many Saudis have the means to purchase private education and there is a huge demand for English-medium schools. Private international schools are highly important to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One of the main tenets of the country's Vision 2030, which aims to wean the economy off its reliance on oil and diversification revenue, is education. Of course, operating a school in a place like Saudi Arabia might be difficult. According to Pam Mundy, director of schools and education at NEOM Education, one must be "ready for arguments" from the board of the current school. To adapt their methods and curricula to the needs of the target households, numerous institutions would need to make modifications, she said.
“It’s not recognized how much things are changing and what is being done for women and girls in schools”, she said. She instructed school administrators to visit several Saudi cities and really consider how to persuade the board, parents, and alumni to support Saudi.
The "next China", might be Egypt, said Ross Barfoot, a partner at the legal firm Clyde & Co., “When China got too difficult, we saw British schools popping up quickly in Egypt”, Barfoot stated. However, he said, the pricing threshold in the majority of other African nations is just too low for foreign schools to be able to function. China has become an extremely challenging market to join and succeed in as a result of the epidemic and a crackdown on regulations. Due to this, many schools in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore and Thailand, have experienced an increase in Chinese students seeking foreign schools, according to Ian Callendar, COO and director at North London Collegiate School Foreign, who appeared on a discussion on Asia.
He underlined that because of the region's current high-quality educational system, it is "a tougher market now" in Asia. The audience recognized that Vietnam and Indonesia are still growing economies with exciting potential.
India was a fascinating nation that was featured. The experience of collaborating with a local partner to create a school was discussed by Fiona Carter, director of education at Wellington College International. According to her, there are a few legal obstacles, such as the need that schools be nonprofit organizations and the tax consequences for foreign tutors.
In spite of the fact that India's price point is typically lower than those of China and Singapore, Bhargava from Novistra underlined that the country "has lots of opportunity because it's different". Indians invest money in their education, tuition costs are rising, colleges are now permitted to open new campuses in India, and the government of India is creating "the right noise" to entice global higher education institutions, he stated.
After the epidemic, it turned extremely difficult to recruit instructors for foreign institutions. Diana Jacoutot, managing director of teacher recruitment agency Edvectus, fewer individuals are preparing for teaching employment since more occupations might be performed from residence, providing for a better work-life balance. “This means a lot of those who would normally be attracted to teaching are now choosing other industries”, she said.
There are 571,000 teachers working in the worldwide sector, according to Ian Hunt, chairman of the Board of Governors of Haileybury Kazakhstan. “There’s massive teacher shortages in the UK, Australia, and the US. Teachers are interested in money and this will not change”, Jacoutot said. Nowadays, the arrangement is more ‘transactional’ than it once was. For teachers who are interested in traveling abroad, a country like Saudi Arabia can be a desirable choice. In general, wages are greater when the cost of living is low.
