CBSE schools in Abu Dhabi with fees, 2026-27: every CBSE-affiliated school in the emirate (Abu Dhabi city, Mussafah and Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Baniyas, Al Wathba, Al Ain and Al Dhafra) in fee bands, the published annual fees from the schools' own fee charts, the ADEK Irtiqa'a ratings, how ADEK controls fee increases, the April-to-March year, what the fee does not cover, and a printable fee table and shortlist checklist (free PDF)

"CBSE schools in Abu Dhabi" is searched by two kinds of family: the one arriving on a new contract with a child mid-way through Class 6, and the one already in Mussafah whose KG1 application went nowhere. Both want the same page: every CBSE school in the emirate, what it actually charges, what ADEK's inspectors said, and how the April-to-March year and the admission calendar work. This is that page, with the fees the schools publish on their own fee charts for 2026-27 where they publish them, the schools' published ranges where they do not, and a printable fee table and shortlist checklist at the end.

Download the Abu Dhabi CBSE fee table and shortlist checklist (PDF) (every CBSE school in the emirate by area, the fee band, the published fees, the latest ADEK rating, and a shortlist checklist with the questions to ask; two pages, free)

The map: about thirty CBSE schools in three parts of the emirate

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is three school markets. Abu Dhabi city and its suburbs hold about eighteen CBSE-affiliated schools, concentrated in Mussafah and Mohammed Bin Zayed City (Shabiya, Sectors 9 to 12), Baniyas and Al Wathba to the south-east, and the older community schools on the island (Muroor Road, 17th Street). Al Ain, ninety minutes inland, has nine, mostly in Al Muwaiji and Falaj Hazza. The Al Dhafra region in the west has five, in Madinat Zayed, Ruwais and Al Marfa, serving the oil and gas families. All of them are affiliated to CBSE in New Delhi, inspected by ADEK (the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge) under its Irtiqa'a programme, and run the Indian year, April to March.

The UAE has about 106 CBSE-affiliated schools, the largest CBSE network outside India, which is why CBSE opened a regional office in Dubai; the Gulf as a whole has over 200.

The fee bands, 2026-27

Annual tuition in dirhams, by grade, excluding books, uniform, transport and the registration fee. Where a school publishes its own fee chart for 2026-27 we quote it; where it does not, the figure is the range the school has published or reported in recent years, marked "published range", and the school's fee page (and the ADEK-approved fee letter most schools now link) is the final word.

Low fee: the community schools, about AED 4,000 to 12,000

ADIS Muroor is the oldest CBSE school in the emirate (1975), the largest, and the one with a waiting list for KG1 every year; it is run by a community trust, which is why the fee is a third of the premium schools'. St Joseph's (1967) is the other island school.

Mid fee: the big Mussafah, Baniyas and Al Wathba schools, about AED 9,000 to 20,000

Upper band: AED 13,000 to 25,000

Al Ain

Al Dhafra

Asian International Private School in Madinat Zayed (and its Branch 2) and Asian International in Ruwais, both from 1989, with published ranges of roughly AED 4,000 to 13,000, and Al Marfa International Private School (to Grade 10), about AED 4,100 to 6,900. These are the schools of the ADNOC and Borouge families, and the senior grades are small.

A few affiliations on CBSE's list (Indian Islahi Islamic School, Al Noor Indian Islamic School, Al Taawan, Global English School Al Ain) are community or evening schools rather than full day schools; check before counting them.

How ADEK controls the fees

ADEK approves every private school's tuition fee for every grade, and publishes the approved figure; the "Fee Approval Letter" most schools now link on their fee page is that approval. Under the School Fees Policy (version 1.1, in force from 2024-25):

• A standard increase is tied to the education cost index, and a school may apply only if it has operated for three years, holds a valid licence, and files audited accounts for the previous two years; the application goes in during ADEK's annual window.
• An exceptional increase needs two consecutive years of audited operating losses and at least 80 percent occupancy, once a year at most, and ADEK can refuse either kind.
• Registration fees are capped at 5 percent of the approved tuition, may be taken up to four months before the year starts, are deducted from the last instalment, and are refunded if the school cannot enrol the child.
• Tuition must be collected in three or more equal instalments (three, four or ten are the common patterns), and the first may be collected no more than a month before the year begins.

The last published rating-linked caps (Outstanding about 3.9 percent, Very Good 3.4, Good 2.8, Acceptable and Weak 2.25) belong to an earlier cycle; the index now sets the ceiling. In practice the CBSE schools move a few hundred dirhams a year.

The year, and admissions

CBSE schools in Abu Dhabi run April to March: the fee charts are headed "April 2026 to March 2027", the first instalment is due in March, the Class 10 and 12 board exams fall in February and March (Class 10 now has a main exam in February and a second, optional improvement exam in May), and the long break is in July and August with a shorter one at Diwali. ADEK's calendar policy lets each school set its own calendar inside ADEK's limits on start and end dates, breaks and teaching days, and requires the external exams to be built in.

Admissions for April open from about January, earlier at the oversubscribed schools; KG1 and Grade 1 at ADIS Muroor, Bright Riders, ADIS Branch 1 and the Bhavans schools fill fastest. A mid-year transfer into Grade 9 to 12 needs a seat and a CBSE transfer certificate, and Grade 10 and 12 transfers after the October list of candidates are hard everywhere. Every school teaches the UAE Ministry's compulsory subjects alongside CBSE: Arabic, Islamic Education for Muslim pupils, and Moral, Social and Cultural Studies.

What the fee does not cover

Books (AED 400 to 700 a year at the schools that publish it), uniform (about AED 700 for a set), transport (AED 3,950 at ADIS Branch 1, AED 5,000 at GIIS, roughly AED 4,000 to 5,500 elsewhere), the registration fee, and exam fees for Class 10 and 12. Add AED 5,000 to 7,000 to the tuition line for a child who takes the bus.

And the part no fee covers: a section of 35 to 45 in a CBSE school, which is what makes a child who is quietly behind in Class 7 maths stay behind. That is the online CBSE tuition market, and why the tuition centres in Mussafah charge what they charge.

How to choose: five questions that are not the fee

1. The ADEK report, not the rating. Read the latest Irtiqa'a report on ADEK's site: the "students' achievement" and "teaching and assessment" lines by phase tell you more than the one-word rating, and the report says which grades are strongest.
2. Class size by grade, especially Grade 9 to 12, where the board-exam years are taught.
3. The Class 10 and 12 results the school publishes: the share above 90 percent and the subject averages, not only the pass rate (every school here passes nearly everyone).
4. The commute. Mussafah to the island at 7 am is an hour on a bad day; a school ten minutes away that is "Good" beats one across the city that is "Very Good" for a child in Grade 3.
5. Streams in Class 11: which combinations the school actually runs (Science with Computer Science or Biology, Commerce with Maths, Humanities), because a small school may offer two.

Where to get help

For a child in a CBSE school in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain or Al Dhafra, a 1-on-1 online class on the NCERT chapter the school is on, in the school's order, with the sample-paper pattern from Class 9 and pre-board practice from December: the Abu Dhabi page has the class times (4 to 7 pm Abu Dhabi time, only 1.5 hours behind the tutor) and the fee, about AED 37 to 48 an hour against AED 100 to 250 for a home tutor in Mussafah, with the recording of every class. The free 30-minute first class is a real lesson on the topic the child is on.

Download the fee table and shortlist checklist (PDF)

Questions parents ask

See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →