TresVista Financial Services 02 | Page 8

TRESVISTA FINANCIAL SERVICES For-Profit Education in GCC – By TresVista Financial Services The market size of the for-profit education sector in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries is set to more than double by 2015 to USD 50.0 billion, driven by the increasing enrolment ratio of school age population. This, combined with the rising quality consciousness of an increasingly wealthy population, will lead to a larger share of for-profit institutions in a growing education sector pie. With primary and secondary enrolment ratios close to the peak in most countries, the tertiary enrolment market, which remains highly under-penetrated, offers a significant potential for growth. to increasing wealth and infrastructure development in these countries. The last few years have seen an increased awareness in the region for the need to diversify the economies away from oil, leading to investments in physical and social infrastructure. The education sector has been a major beneficiary of this trend. Education has become a key spending and policy priority in most countries. The education sector in GCC has shown tremendous growth in the last few years. We expect this trend to continue going forward for secondary and The GCC countries have recently witnessed high GDP especially for higher education, which remains highly growth rates, driven by increasing oil prices leading underpenetrated. The market size of the for-profit education sector in the GCC is set to more than double by 2015 to USD 50.0 billion 8 INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE | October 2011