Some principals describe report as rushed and not comprehensive

Dubai: Principals of schools which were rated as 'unsatisfactory' by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) inspection report released on Saturday, evaluated the report as 'rushed' and not comprehensive and so does not reflect the reality of schools.

According to the individuals performance ratings of all 189 public and private schools uploaded on the KHDA's website, about 22 schools were found unsatisfactory.

Khalfan Abdullah Salman, Principal of Al Watan Al Arabi Primary and High School, a public school with 97 pupils located on Dubai Al Ain road, said that the report was rushed in evaluating the performance of schools and it does not reflect the reality of his school.

"The evaluation was not comprehensive and rushed. For example the unsatisfactory quality of the science subject was based on the evaluation of one of our three science teachers during one lesson. How can they evaluate the performance of the teaching team for a whole academic year in one lesson?" asked Salman.

"We are not against progress and developing our teaching methods but modernising schools should not mean the complete elimination of the school's past experience and already existing qualities. To rate schools as unsatisfactory is exaggerated and demotivating," said Salman. However he did admit that there was a case of pupil abuse registered against one of the teachers.

Some of the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau's (DSIB) remarks to Al Watan Al Arabi Primary and High School were the lack of shower facilities and green space and shade for the playground, according to Salman.

"We have been asking the Ministry of Education for a shade for the playground since the establishment of the school in 2000 but nothing has happened yet," said Salman.

Tooba Mohammad Ali, Principal of Al Khulafa Al Rashideen Primary School for Boys, a public school in Al Qusais with 387 pupils, said there are several problems with the evaluation methods of the DSIB and many of the inspectors do not have the appropriate knowledge about the UAE society in general and its educational system in particular.

"They want an idealistic environment in schools and no school has that but what should be in place are plans on how to deal with problems when they arise. They assessed us for less than three days on everything starting from the conditions of the building to teaching quality and that is not enough. I request that inspectors would spend more than 10 minutes in random lessons they picked," said Tooba.

Some principals described the report as outdated as DSIB has already conducted a second inspection on their schools.

Nikhat Rehman, Principal of The Oxford School, said: "The KHDA report that has just been published online refers to an inspection carried out at the school in November of last year. The inspectors returned to the school last month and we were informed the school fell under the 'acceptable' category and this will be confirmed by the KHDA in their follow-up report, which is expected to be released in a couple of weeks.

However, some parents said that results were expected as they are struggling to improve the quality of their children's education.

Umm Hind, who has five children in public schools said that she was not surprised with the results of the KHDA's school inspection reports on the contrary she was expecting more schools to fall under the unsatisfactory category.

"I think the fact that the schools were informed about the inspection timings helped them orchestrate their performance in the days of inspections so I think that the results do not reflect reality. KHDA should follow up this inspection by conducting sudden visits to schools," she said.

Quotes

Ralph Tabberer, Chief Schools Officer, GEMS Education:

Having the parents to dictate terms to school managements regarding the fees is like the customer deciding the price. However, there is ample room to improve the involvement of parents in the education of their children.

Dr. Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of the Dubai Schools inspection Bureau (DSIB):

These reports give us the facts we ned to talk to each other about the future of education in Dubai. The inspections are a tool we have given to schools so that, with the action plans as our guide, we can work hand-in-hand to improve standards in every classroom.

Pamela John, a parent:

KHDA has done parents and the future of Dubai a great favour by launching a rigorous inspection of schools, many of which operate with unbridled profit motives. After the classifications of schools, we now know what we are paying for.

-Compiled by Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter