National Learning says population growth to add 2 mln students in 10 years

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National Company for Learning and Education (NCLE) said that student count decreased by 9% in 2021 to 13,300 from 14,525 in 2020.

As many as 80% of the total decrease resulted from the decline in enrollment of kindergarten and first grade students, while the remaining 20% represented enrolled students who transferred out, NCLE added in Q2 2021 earnings call.

Government grants and subsidies increased by 75% compared with Q2 2020.

Moreover, NCLE completed Al-Qairawan campus construction and enrolled 1,000 students in 2020. It also continued the construction operations of Doha Hills Educational Complex in the Eastern Region, which will begin operations in September 2022 according to the project schedule.

NCLE added that population growth will add 2 million students in ten years. Enrollment rate in private education is still the lowest in Saudi Arabia at 15%, compared to 23% and 74% in the neighboring GCC countries.

On the other hand, non-educational building schools accommodated 40% of private education students, the company affirmed.

“Public schools operation is an opportunity to improve cost efficiency and education quality,” NCLE explained.

The company reported net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR 8.4 million for H1 2020/2021 ending Feb. 28, 2021, a decline of 67% year-on-year (YoY), Argaam reported.