Demand growing for online schools

MANAMA: Online schools across the region are seeing a surge in demand as the coronavirus epidemic has hampered normal educational services.

A leading online school – iCademy Middle East has seen a five-fold surge in student numbers since distance learning was enforced by the government.

iCademy ME, the only Knowledge and Human Development Authority-licensed online school in Dubai, has been operating in the GCC region since 2008 and offers an American curriculum high school diploma.

It currently has more than 800 students and academic year fees range from AED16,999 for KG through to year 8 students and AED19,999 for high school.

“With the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, parents are looking to education professionals who have designed a system to educate students in an online, at home setting,” said Cody Claver, general manager of iCademy Middle East.

“Parents have now had experience with online learning and they better understand the importance of keeping their student meaningfully engaged in learning. They know that iCademy Middle East is structured to provide their student an educational experience that is rigorous, interesting and engaging.”

For the most part, classrooms haven’t changed in 100 years.

However, as workplaces and universities across the world realise the cost effectiveness and efficiency of online options, K-12 schools will need to embrace online learning and empower their students with the 21st century skills they will need.

Parents realised that it didn’t make sense to gamble with a year of their children’s education when there were well-established and reputable online schools available for a fraction of the cost.

“Decisions about the 2020-2021 school year were actually being made in early March as parents chose to move their students to iCademy Middle East for the last term of the 2019-2020 school year,” said Mr Claver.

With the plan for the 2020 academic school year still very much up in the air, the steady migration from traditional, brick-and-mortar schools to online schools sees no end in sight.

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/825794/Demand-growing-for-online-schools