GEMS Education

What does GEMS Education own?
GEMS Education owns and operates 45 schools in the UAE serving approximately 146,000 students, plus schools in Qatar, Egypt, and India. The company's school brands include GEMS World Academy, GEMS Modern Academy, Our Own English High School, GEMS American Academy, Cambridge International School, GEMS Founders School, and several UK-based schools managed through its Bellevue Education subsidiary.

Is GEMS Education publicly traded?
No, GEMS Education is a privately held company. The Varkey family retains controlling ownership. In 2024, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) invested $100 million in the company, but GEMS remains private and does not trade on any stock exchange. The company does not publicly disclose detailed financial results.

Who founded GEMS Education?
GEMS Education was founded by Sunny Varkey, who took over his parents' small school in Dubai in 1980 and expanded it into a global education company. His parents, Mariama and K.S. Varkey, started the original school in 1968. Sunny Varkey formally established GEMS (Global Education Management Systems) in 2000 as the corporate entity for the school network.

Where is GEMS Education headquartered?
GEMS Education is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The company has maintained its headquarters in Dubai since its founding and operates its largest school network in the emirate, with 99,000 of its 146,000 UAE-based students attending schools in Dubai.

How many brands does GEMS Education own?
GEMS Education operates 9 school brands and campus networks, including GEMS World Academy, GEMS Modern Academy, Our Own English High School, GEMS American Academy, Cambridge International School, GEMS Founders School, Sherborne House, The Hampshire School Chelsea, and GEMS Learning Trust. The company is also building a network of 1,000 GEMS Partner Schools in India.

Who owns GEMS Education?
GEMS Education is controlled by the Varkey family. Sunny Varkey serves as Founder and Chairman, and his elder son Dino Varkey serves as CEO. The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) invested $100 million in 2024, making it a significant minority investor. The company is privately held and does not have a controlling shareholder outside the Varkey family.

GEMS Education traces its origins to 1959, when Indian-born teachers Mariama and K.S. Varkey started a small tutoring business in Dubai. The discovery of oil in Dubai in 1966 brought an influx of foreign workers to the emirate, creating demand for schools serving expatriate children. In 1968, the Varkeys founded Our Own English High School in Dubai to serve the children of Indian expatriates. This school became the foundation of what would grow into GEMS Education.

Sunny Varkey, son of the founders, took over operations in 1980. He expanded aggressively under the Varkey Group umbrella, opening schools offering Indian, Pakistani, and British curricula. Varkey recognized that Dubai's growing expatriate population needed affordable private education options across multiple national curricula, and he built a portfolio of schools to meet that demand.

In 2000, Sunny Varkey established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) as a formal corporate entity to manage and expand the school network internationally. The GEMS brand replaced the Varkey Group name for school operations. In 2003, GEMS began opening schools in England, acquiring Sherborne House and Sherfield School in Hampshire.

In 2004, GEMS opened its first schools in India. The company subsequently expanded into Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States. GEMS became a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company in 2010 and entered a strategic partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative.

In 2019, GEMS sold its Swiss school campus. Sherfield School in Hampshire was sold to Education in Motion (EiM) in August 2023. The company has been gradually refocusing on its core Gulf and Asian markets.

In February 2025, CEO Dino Varkey told Reuters that GEMS planned to spend approximately $300 million over two to three years to increase organic growth, betting on Dubai's population growth and an inflow of wealthy individuals. The company aimed to increase its student headcount by 30,000 to 35,000 by 2028.

In 2025, GEMS India announced a $30 million investment plan over three to five years to develop more than 30 GEMS-operated schools and 1,000 GEMS Partner Schools across India. The first five schools are scheduled to open in the 2026 academic year across Greater Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Rajasthan.

In 2026, GEMS announced a Dh2 billion (approximately $540 million) investment over three years to add around 20,000 new student seats in Dubai. The first 5,000 seats are scheduled to come online in September 2026. The expansion will be funded through internal cash flows and potential partnerships with property funds.

Regional geopolitical tensions in 2026, including the Iran conflict, caused a slight dip in UAE school registrations. At the peak of the conflict in March 2026, approximately 1,500 to 1,600 GEMS students relocated to their home countries. By mid-2026, 600 to 700 of those students had indicated plans to return. Despite the temporary disruption, Varkey expressed confidence in long-term demand growth.