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Saturday 21 November 2009 (UAE)
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Taaleem Dubai
Taaleem (which is Arabic for "education") is an education investment company and schools operator in Dubai focused on UK, UK, and IB curriculum schools and early childhood centers. Taleem was first established in 2004 in Dubai as a Private Joint Stock Company (PJSC) to invest in the educational sector, and provided finances to Beacon Education in Dubai to open 4 new schools in Dubai in September 2005. In June 2007, Madaares, a subsidiary of the UAE National Bonds Corporation in the UAE, announced the acquisition of Taaleem & Beacon Education. The name Taaleem was later taken over by Madaares when it rebranded itself. Somewhere along the way, the name Beacon Education disappeared also although some Dubai residents still refer to Taaleem schools as Beacon schools.
List of Taleem schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
| School Name | Emirate | Tel | Level | Curriculum | Qualifications | School Fees | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Furjan School | Dubai | planned | K-12 | US | AFS comments | ||
| American Academy for Girls Dubai | Dubai | +971-4-2887250 | K-12 | US | AP | 25,520-39,440 | AAGD comments |
| Childrens Garden Dubai | Dubai | +971-4-8853484 | nursery | UK/French/German | 17,800-34,600 | CGD comments | |
| Childrens Garden Jumeirah | Dubai | +971-4-3492985 | nursery | UK/French | 40,000 | ||
| Dubai British School | Dubai | +971-4-3619361 | K-12 | UK | A-level, IGCSE, GCSE | 32,480-48,720 | DBS comments |
| Greenfield Community School | Dubai | +971-4-8856600 | K-12 | IB DP, MYP, PYP | 32,000-54,000 | GCS comments | |
| My Nursery Dubai | Dubai | +971-4-3441120 | nursery | Arabic/UK | |||
| NumberWorks n Words Mirdiff | Dubai | +971-50-8807999 | NNWM comments | ||||
| NumberWorks n Words Springs | Dubai | +971-50-8807977 | NNWS comments | ||||
| Raha International School | Abu Dhabi | +971-2-5561567 | K-12 | IB DP, MYP, PYP | 32,000-48,000 | RIS comments | |
| Uptown High School | Dubai | +971-4-2641818 | secondary | UK/US | IBMYP, IB DP | 49,000-69,000 | UHS comments |
| Uptown School | Dubai | +971-4-2886270 | primary | UK | IBPYP | 28,580-38,980 | US comments |
Taaleem background and history
- 2004 - Taaleem established as a PJSC to provide a finance vehicle for Beacon Education schools. Capital at launch of AED 125m, with future plans to raise AED 1 billion.
- February 2005 - announcement that Taaleem joins up with Beacon Education to provide financing for the first four Beacon schools to open in Dubai in September 2005.
- April 2005 - Taleem and Dubailand announce a new flagship school to be built in Dubailand with an investment of AED 800 million to build 5 new schools on a 2.5 million sq ft plot of land near Dubai Academic City. The complex would include a nursery / early childhood school, a primary or elementary school, 2 secondary or middle/high schools, and a junior college. Day and boarding facilities would be available, and also a youth hostel for visiting students. The facility would also be the headquarters for Taaleem and Beacon Education. First buildings would open sometime in 2008. A Teacher Training Institute was also mentioned in the press release at the time. A later press release announced a new school in Al Furjan in Dubailand, unknown if it was referring to the same complex.
- February 2006 - Madaares established and says they plan to open 14 new schools by 2012, and a total of 20 schools in the Middle East eventually.
- September 2006 - Raha International School in Abu Dhabi opened. RIS offers International Baccaluareate (IB).
- March 2007 - Arabian Business reports that Madaares is about to buy a "leading British schools operator" and "two Emirati school operators" according to comments from the chairman, Nasar Al Sheikh.
- June 2007 - Madaares acquires Beacon Education & Taaleem.
- September 2007 - Greenfield Community School, another IB school, opened in The Green Community in Dubai.
- September 2007 - Al Furjan community school announced in a partnership between Nakheel and Madaares. Planned opening in 2010.
- May 2008 - Madares renames itself as Taaleem.
- June 2008 - Al Khayyat, Rasmala Investments and RHT Partners buy 13% of Taaleem. Total Al Khayat investment in Taaleem is 25%.
- July 2008 - the new Taaleem school in Bahrain will offer UK National Curriculum and IB. It will be located in Durrat Al Bahrain and will be a LEED accredited building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
- September 2009 - the first Taaleem school outside the UAE expected to open, in Bahrain
What? Say that again? How are Taaleem, Beacon, and Madaares connected?
Beacon Education was established first, as an education management company but it had little money. Taaleem was established next, by willing finance providers, to fund Beacon Education schools. Madaares was established next, as an investment company to buy and/or develop schools. Madaares liked Beacon and Taaleem so it bought them, and later renamed itself as Taaleem. The founding CEO of Beacon now runs the new Taaleem (ex-Madaares).
Taaleem profit or non-profit?
With regard to the question of why Taaleem is a profit-making organisation, a report in The National 28 July 2009 obtained an answer: Asked why Taaleem was not created as a not-for-profit entity, Mr Azzam was frank: “Anyone who is going to put their money in any venture expects a return. Now there are checks and balances to ensure that parents are getting value for money.”
Taaleem profile and contact details
| Comments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Nasser Bin Hasan Al Sheikh | also ex-DG Dubai Dept Finance, Chairman of Amlak |
| CEO | Ziad Azzam | |
| Postal Address | PO Box 76691, Dubai, UAE | Location - first floor, Century Plaza, Jumeirah Beach Rd |
| Telephone | +971-4-3498806 | |
| Fax | +971-4-3498807 | |
| info@taaleem.ae |
Taleem management and personnel
- Academic Development Project Co-coordinator / Director - Keith Sedgwick (appointed December 2008)
- Chief Education Officer - Dr Samia Al Farra (from September 2009, announced March 2009)
- Chief Financial Officer - Kapil Kapoor
- Deputy Chief Education Officer of Development - Dr Sadru Damji
- Deputy Chief Education Officer of Operations - Elizabeth Loadwick
- Director of Academic Development - Dr Sadru Damji
- Director of Business Development - John Stow
- Director of Communications and Marketing - Clive Pierrepont (appointed December 2008)
- Director of Projects - Tom Matthews
- Principal Designate Flagship School - Angela Hollington
Last update Wednesday 02-Sep-2009
Related pages - Internal Links
- Dubai - FAQ home and index
- Beacon Education - information about the company
- Beacon schools list - old list retained for information archive
- Dubai education providers - list of other school groups in Dubai and the UAE
- Madarees - what Taaleem used to be
Related websites - External Links (open in new window)
- www.taaleem.ae - Taaleem Dubai website, www.taaleem.com belongs to a Saudi based school or educational organisation (presumably unrelated to Taaleem Dubai), and www.taaleem.org belongs to a Bahrain/UAE based management consultant (also assumed to be unrelated to Taaleem Dubai).
- Dubai directory - add your link free