GEMS Education, founded as Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), is an international education company. It is one of the world's largest private school operators, and as of late 2022 it operates more than 60 schools across the Middle East and North Africa, and also has schools in Asia, Europe, and North America. Founded in Dubai by Sunny Varkey, the firm provides pre-school, primary, and secondary education.
History
Early schools and the Varkey Group GEMS Education had its roots in a family tutoring business in Dubai started by Indian-born teachers Mariama and K.S. Varkey in 1959.Bhatia, Asha. "Early days of Varkey schools: it was a management challenge". Gulf News. 9 March 2001. The discovery of oil in Dubai in 1966 brought in many foreign workers to the undeveloped emirate, including many from the Indian subcontinent. With the increased demand for an English-language education for the children of Indian expatriates, the Varkeys founded Our Own English High School in Dubai in 1968."Education for profit in the Arab world". United Arab Emirates: NRI Internet. 7 December 2004.Guttenplan, D. D. "Entrepreneur Seeks to Offer High-Quality Education at Fraction of Cost". New York Times. 26 May 2013.
When in 1980 local authorities insisted that Our Own English High School be housed in a purpose-built facility, the Varkeys' son Sunny Varkey took over the operation of the school, which had fewer than 400 students at the time.Hamdan, Sara. "Building an Education Empire". Global Citizen. July/August 2012. He expanded the school, and added new schools as well.Kerr, Simeon. "School rooms for everyone". Financial Times. 18 June 2013.Hui, Kok Xing. "Grad of the school of hard knocks". Today. 14 September 2013. The education situation in Dubai was ripe for expansion, since local schools were only for native Arabs, and the children of the ever-increasing number of expats needed education of their own. Under his umbrella business organization the Varkey Group, Sunny Varkey opened Indian, Pakistani, and British schools, and offered education under the different curricula: Indian (Central Board of Secondary Education and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education), U.S., British, and later International Baccalaureate, French, and dual and local curricula.Vijayakumar, Sanjay. "Sunny Varkey banks on Centum Learning to revive India business". The Economic Times. 6 September 2012.Lewis, Kathryn. "The man who built an education empire". The National. 13 September 2008.Sharif, Arif. "World's Biggest Private School Operator GEMS Seeks $1 Billion". Bloomberg. 27 March 2013.
In June 2024, SOFAZ (The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan) announced it would invest US$100 million into GEMS education.
Founding of GEMS After creating a network of schools in the Gulf Arab states, in 2000 Varkey established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), an advisory and educational management firm, in advance of his overseas expansion.Zachariahs, Candice. "The McSchool revolution". The Economic Times. 24 September 2004. In 2003, he began opening GEMS schools in England, beginning with Sherborne House in Hampshire and Bury Lawn in Milton Keynes. Soon afterwards, he took over Sherfield School in Hampshire, and purchased another 10 schools in England, mainly in the north.Woodward, Will. "Business class". The Guardian. 12 December 2005."No-Frills Public Schools: Independants' Day". NRI Internet. 22 January 2005.
In 2004, the group opened its first schools in India. It continued to add schools in the subcontinent, and also purchased a controlling interest in the India-based Everonn Education, which the Varkey Group and GEMS managed.About Everonn. Everonn.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015. GEMS subsequently opened schools in Africa, Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe.Sunny Varkey – Profile at Forbes. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
In 2010, the firm became an official member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) as one of WEF's Global Growth Companies. In 2012, it became a Global Growth Company 'Partner', entitling it to attend the World Economic Forum's flagship annual meeting in Davos. Also in 2010, former U.S. president Bill Clinton named GEMS Education a strategic partner of the Clinton Global Initiative, which convened global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's pressing challenges."President Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton Announce More Participants for 10th Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting and Honorees and Performers for the 8th Clinton Global Citizen AwardsTM". Clinton Global Initiative (press release). Press.ClintonGlobalInitiative.org. 11 September 2014.
In 2012, the firm received the School of Educators Global Education Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award for Global School Education.SOE Awards – Winners of 2012 . School of Educators: Global Education Awards. SoEAwards.com. Retrieved 28 April 2015. That year, it was also named Education Company of the Year at the Gulf Business Industry Awards,"Lifetime Achievement Award-Gulf Business Industry Awards 2012". Al Bawaba. 26 April 2015. and it also received that same award in 2013.Buller, Alicia. "Revealed: The Gulf Business Industry Awards Winners 2013". Gulf Business. 24 September 2013."Emirates awarded UAE Company of the Year at The Gulf Business Industry Awards 2013". Motivate Publishing. MotivatePublishing.com. 24 September 2013.
Structure and philosophy The schools are established in various price brackets, to serve various markets and income levels.McNicholas, Mona Parikh; Raj, Frank. . The International Indian. 2008: Issue 5, Volume 15.5. pp. 56–60. The more expensive schools have spacious grounds and amenities such as golf and tennis facilities, as well as smaller class sizes."Chalk, talk and customer service". The Economist. 29 April 2004.
When entering into new markets, according to the company, its schools use local partners who understand local conditions, and provide local knowledge that may not be obvious through standard market research.
According to the company, its schools aim to instill students with universal values, and to form graduates who are global citizens with leadership qualities. The company states that the schools aim to equip children to live in a multicultural environment, and stresses the importance of giving back to others both locally and globally.Peschardt's Business People – Segment: Sunny Varkey. Peschardt's People. BBC TV. 9 April 2010.
GEMS Education Solutions GEMS Education Solutions was the consultancy arm of GEMS Education, providing educational services and advice. It was established in 2011, taking on projects mainly in the UK, Africa, and Asia.GEMS Education Solutions Limited. CompaniesintheUK.co.uk. It worked with governments and non-profits, and public and private clients.Rai, Saritha. "Billionaire Education Entrepreneur Varkey Takes His Dubai School Chain Worldwide". Forbes. 2 April 2014.
One of its projects was assisting and advising the state school system in the United Arab Emirates."Gulf wealth funding state education". (video) BBC News. 30 March 2013. In Saudi Arabia, via the Oxford Partnership, it co-managed three newly built women's vocational colleges;"The Oxford Partnership chosen for Saudi 'Colleges of Excellence'". Eye of Riyadh. 4 April 2014. the three-year diploma programmes include training in IT, communication, basic sciences, and English language, before moving on to specialisation and on-the-job training.Smith, Beckie. "UK consortia win £850m college contracts in Saudi Arabia". The Pie. 15 April 2014.
In Ghana, the consultancy implemented MGCubed – Making Ghana Girls Great – which equipped two classrooms in each Ghanaian primary school with a computer, projector, satellite modem, and solar panels, creating an interactive distance-learning platform to deliver formal in-school teaching and informal after-school training.Project profiles. Girls' Education Challenge. April 2014. p. 13.MGCubed – GEMS Education Solutions. International Aid Transparency Initiative. Retrieved 7 May 2015."After-School Girls Empowerment and Satellite-Transmitted Classes in Ghana". Innovations for Poverty Action. Retrieved 7 May 2015. The project initially taught 8,000 students in 72 Ghanaian schools, and was Sub-Saharan Africa's first interactive distance-learning project."DFID gives green light to first interactive distance-learning project". Business & Financial Times. 15 May 2014. The program aims to prevent dropping out and under-achieving among girls.Bramley, Ellie Violet. "Spider-Man and skiing: Ghana's girls test hi-tech distance-learning scheme". The Guardian. 11 July 2014.
In 2014, GEMS Education Solutions published "The Efficiency Index",The Efficiency Index. GEMS Education Solutions. EdEfficiencyIndex.com. 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015. analyzing which public education systems, by country, deliver the best value for money. Basing its analysis on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, the study also detailed teacher salaries and class sizes in nationwide schools.Marsh, Sarah. "How the job of a teacher compares around the world". The Guardian. 5 September 2014."Education Efficiency Index Gives U.S. Low Ranking" . Science Matters. National Science Teachers Association. Science.NSTA.org. September 2014."International Education Report Ranks UK's Education System 11th Most Efficient". iGovNews.com. 5 September 2014. The study was analyzed in periodicals such as The Economist,"New school values". The Economist. 13 September 2014. Forbes,Horn, Michael. "Obvious Flaws Weaken New Education Efficiency Index". Forbes. 18 December 2014. and BBC News.Coughlan, Sean. "Bigger classes for budget efficiency". BBC News. 5 September 2014.
Corporate governance Sunny Varkey is the founder of GEMS Education, and as of 2018, was its executive chairman. His elder son Dino Varkey has been CEO since 2017. As of 2018, Sunny's younger son Jay Varkey was an executive director and board member.
Schools
Middle East and North Africa
United Arab Emirates GEMS Education was founded in Dubai, and its first school there, Our Own English High School, originally opened in 1968. It was later renamed to GEMS United Indian School in 2015. The company still has its strongest presence in Dubai and in the United Arab Emirates. GEMS is the largest education provider in the UAE, and the UAE accounts for more than 90% of its business.Reuters. "Dubai's GEMS says plans to build six schools a year". Arabian Business. 28 January 2014.
Following its initial years catering mainly to immigrant Indian workers, GEMS grew rapidly in Dubai. As the emirate developed into an international hub, the expat demographics shifted from short-term workers from a few countries to longterm expat residents with their entire families from countries around the world. The firm adapted with schools for each demographic, varying and adding new curricula and price ranges for each income level and nationality."GEMS's Sunny Varkey: 'We Offer Different Curricula at Varying Price Points'". Knowledge@Wharton. Wharton School of Business. 20 April 2010.
With steadily rising immigration, since public schooling was only available for Emirati natives, demand for private schools in Dubai and the UAE often outstripped supply, causing lengthy waiting lists at many schools. Many native Emiratis as well choose to send their children to private schools, and from 2011 to 2015 the number of native Emirati students in GEMS schools rose faster than any other nationality.Khaishgi, Amna Ehtesham. "Gems schools enrol rising number of Emirati pupils". The National. 30 August 2014. Approximately 90% of students in Dubai were in private schools as of 2013, and with rapidly increasing population, private-school enrolment in Dubai doubled in the decade from 2003 to 2013.Hamdan, Sara. "In Dubai, Plans for Schooling Start at Birth (or Before)". New York Times. 30 May 2013.