Dubai: Eight private schools in Dubai have shown overall improvement in their performance, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) inspection results for the academic year 2013-14 show.
Of the 141 schools inspected, 12 were rated outstanding, 57 were rated good, 64 were rated acceptable and eight were rated unsatisfactory. The report also shows that most pupils enrolled in private schools in Dubai attend schools rated acceptable.
Out of the total number of pupils, 106,644 attend schools rated acceptable, while 98,698 attend schools rated good, 21,710 attend schools rated outstanding and 10,683 attend schools rated unsatisfactory. Six of those schools improved from acceptable to good. These are Greenfield Community School, JSS International School, Dar Al Marefa School, Dubai Police Kindergarten-Deira branch, Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Islamic Institute and Star International School.
Two other schools improved from unsatisfactory to acceptable — Grammar School and English Language Private School. However, schools rated outstanding remained the same as last year.
Dr Ashok Kumar, CEO of the Indian High School — which received an outstanding rating — said the school was able to achieve this rating because of the joint efforts of teachers, parents and students.
“We want to incorporate further improved teaching and learning standards and technology,” Kumar said.
Alison Turner, Head Teacher, Kings’ Dubai, another school with an outstanding rating since 2008, said: “We are very proud to be the only school in the emirates to have achieved the ‘outstanding’ rating every year since the inspections began six years ago.
“September 2014 will see the opening of our two new schools in Nad Al Sheba and Al Barsha. We will continue to deliver this same high standard established at Kings’ Dubai — our outstanding reputation is something which we are determined to uphold.”
Stressing the importance of the KHDA inspections, Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) at KHDA, said: “We encourage all parents to read the school reports in full. Parents should be fully informed of the strengths and weaknesses of their child’s school and have a comprehensive understanding of its progress over the past year.”
Nine of the 12 outstanding-rated schools followed the British curriculum.
Samar Mohammad, a Palestinian mother of four, said she was not surprised about British curriculum schools coming on top. “I always follow the inspection results before making decisions and British schools always seem to overachieve, which is why all my children attend schools that follow the British curriculum.”
Most of the schools rated unsatisfactory, on the other hand, followed the Ministry of Education curriculum. Mohammad Al Jameel, a father of four, did not know the inspection results even existed. “To be honest I don’t know what the KHDA is. I didn’t know that there were annual inspections as well. Having such inspections shared are definitely important. I think I will check the rating of my children’s schools.”
DSIB’s individual reports for the 2013-14 academic year are now available online or via the KHDA’s smart applications.
See the full list here (PDF) or in the infographic above.
