UAE | Education

Most 'unsatisfactory' schools fail to improve

After conducting follow-up tours, Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau says 20 institutions have not made changes.

  • By Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 22:51 June 30, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Education authorities say 20 Dubai schools they have revisited have shown no improvement since their initial inspections.

Only two of the 22 schools that were categorised as 'unsatisfactory' by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in their first round of inspections have made progress, authorities say.

Star International Al Twar and The Oxford School are the two schools that have improved their performance by implementing the recommendations of the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB), the inspection arm of the KHDA.

The KHDA inspected 189 public and private schools in Dubai between October and April this year. The summary results of the inspections classifying schools into four performance categories - unsatisfactory, acceptable, good and outstanding - were published in two phases, on April 2 and May 17.

It has been found that more than 20,000 pupils in Dubai attend schools that are not up to standard. While more than one out of 10 private schools failed the quality test, none of the government schools were rated as being 'outstanding'. Among the government schools, 32 were rated as 'good', 43 as 'acceptable' and five as 'unsatisfactory'. There are four 'outstanding', 34 'good', 54 'acceptable' and 17 'unsatisfactory' private schools in the emirate.

The 31 Indian, Pakistani and Iranian schools will be inspected in the next academic year.

All 22 schools in Dubai that were rated as being 'unsatisfactory' have been revisited and follow-up reports have been published on KHDA's website.

KHDA said 20 of these schools will require on-going support from DSIB and will undergo follow-up inspections every three months. The schools' inspection rating will not change as a result of the follow-up inspections, but they will be graded again during the next full inspection, which will take place at a later date.

A further 10 schools that were rated as being 'acceptable' were also revisited as they were judged to be 'unsatisfactory' in some areas. Of those, three will not require further visits from inspectors. These schools' follow-up reports are not being published in this cycle.

Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of DSIB, said, "The follow-up inspections demonstrate our commitment to supporting the schools in their improvement."

Ministry of Education: New committee formed

The Ministry of Education has decided to form a committee to review its systems for the employment, remuneration and evaluation of teachers, as well as leave appraisal.

Any changes recommended will be implemented by the beginning of the 2009/2010 school year with the aim of improving performance, encouraging creativity and innovation, enhancing the education process and increasing the skills of teachers.

Minister of Education Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami issued a ministerial decision to form the committee.

- Staff Report


Your comments


The news sometime in May which came to all of us as a surprise when certain schools like The Oxford School, Dubai was rated as unsatisfactory but to be very honest that KHDA came as blessing in disguise for parents and students , as school sincerily took this as a challenge and proved that it's a school that deserves what I read in today's paper.It's a reputed school with dedicated staff but the more credit here I give it to it's new principal who took along her staff as a team and led from front, hence this outcome.I congratulate The Oxford school's(as its a very old school) principal ,teachers and co-workers what they earned now.Better late than never!!
Fauzia Raza
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 01, 2009, 15:45

Its really an effort and move taken by the KHDA for reconcilation of school rules and curriculum, education plays a pivotel role in developing a child's perspective and also most the parents pay relatively a higher price than in their home town thus if the fees is justified in terms of education they been receiving only then it proves the worth. These are in terms of best teachers, language system, curriculum, school premises and location, cleanliness, maintenance of school records, extra curricular activities, latest methods of teaching etc.
Ritu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 01, 2009, 14:42

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