Gulf’s green shoots remain feeble

When observers were seeking to gauge the full impact of the economic crisis on the United Arab Emirates – and Dubai in particular – many suggested that the summer would be critical.

The belief was that the end of the academic year would act as a barometer to judge the number of people leaving the country. Some doom-mongers predicated an exodus.

Yet when Indian and Pakistani schools, which account for about a third of the students at private colleges in the emirate, began their academic year in April, enrolment in Dubai was up 1 per cent, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the regulator.