International accreditation 'a must for new schools'

Dubai: All new private education schools wanting to operate in Dubai starting this year and onwards must obtain international accreditation, said a senior official.

Earlier this summer, Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, met officials from two major US and UK accrediting bodies, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and Council of International Schools (CIS) to discuss the methods and techniques of granting accreditation to schools striving to be part of Dubai schools' milieu.

"We have introduced a new concept now. All new schools that come to Dubai should be internationally accredited through the authority. These are the official governmental bodies that regulate their schools.

"So today if you're going to open a new school that is based on the British curriculum, CIS is the British government body to say this is a truly British curriculum school," Dr Al Karam told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.

Fee ceiling

As for the other curriculums, Dr Al Karam said for the past five years the US and UK curriculums were most in demand thus the authority collaborated with these two accreditation bodies.

However, "we are also contacting Indian and South African accreditation bodies and in the future we will contact other accreditation bodies," he said.

The KHDA is a government authority launched recently by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which will manage and supervise the performance of all educational institutions in Dubai.

According to Dr Al Karam, the recent policy by KHDA to place a 16 per cent fee cap on private schools in Dubai for the academic year 2007-2008 was followed by keen interest from eight schools 'to obtain international accreditation.'

The recent policy says that schools having reputed international accreditation or which fall in the category of non-profit institutions will self-regulate their fees in coordination with the KHDA.

This is being done because of the additional costs incurred in maintaining international accreditation and non-profit schools are re-investing surplus back into the development of the schools, said Dr Al Karam.

"Our strategy with the new policy is to encourage more schools to obtain international accreditation based on their curriculum. These bodies have done this for many years and they have good practices. And gradually all existing schools will follow. This is our long-term strategy. We aim to improve the quality of education," he added.