55% Dubai Indian schools rated 'good'

67% students are now attending schools that provide a good or better quality of education. - Photo used for illustrative purpose

Indian curriculum schools in Dubai have been showing significant improvements in performance, according to the 2015-16 inspections results from Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
Of the 29 Indian curriculum schools inspected in Dubai, two have been rated outstanding, three very good, 11 good, 11 acceptable and two were found to be weak.
GEMS Modern Academy and The Indian High School are the only two schools in the report who've been given an outstanding rating for the fifth consecutive time. School management of both schools said that they were elated at the report of results of the inspection. Three schools - Delhi Private School, GEMS Our Own English High School, and the Millennium School have shown considerable improvement and are now in the 'Very Good' category.
Key findings
A total of seven schools have improved their overall rating compared to last year; with three schools moving from good to very good while four schools improved from acceptable to good. None of the Indian curriculum schools declined in their overall judgements.
Earlier this year, all private schools in Dubai were inspected using the new UAE School Inspection Framework, which evaluates the quality of educational provision on six levels - outstanding, very good, good, acceptable, weak and very weak. The regulatory authority added two new categories in the rating chart - namely very good and very weak. The results for Indian curriculum schools marked a significant improvement in performance, as compared to previous years.
Almost 67 per cent of students (52,144) are now attending schools that provide a good or better quality of education. This represents a significant improvement of 22 percentage points since the first round of inspections by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) in 2009-2010.
"Indian curriculum schools have witnessed significant improvements and school inspectors have observed gains in most aspects of school life, including teaching, learning skills, assessment, parental engagement, governance and leadership. The improvement in the quality of leadership at these schools has led to a better quality of education" said Fatma Belrehif, Executive Director of the DSIB.
Students' learning skills were judged to be good or better in 62 per cent of lessons observed, as per the report. About 63 per cent of lessons observed by DSIB inspectors have been judged as having good or better teaching
Provision for students' health and safety is good or better in 85 per cent of schools and 86 per cent of schools now enjoy good or outstanding links with parents and their local community.
School governance
School self-evaluation is now good or better in 51 per cent schools and 65 per cent of Indian curriculum schools now benefit from good or better leadership. Also, the quality of governance in Indian curriculum schools has improved from 20 per cent to 72 per cent since the first inspection cycle.
The report also highlights the extent to which Indian curriculum schools have participated in the National Agenda Parameter.
Principals laud staff effort
"We are proud to say all GEMS Indian Curriculum schools have shown an improvement in this year's inspection results. We look forward to working closely with them to implement feedback to ensure even greater results next year," said Sir Christopher Stone, Acting Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education
Nargish Khambatta, Principal of GEMS Modern Academy, said: "It is gratifying to know that the hard work of our teachers has been recognised with another Outstanding Ranking. This is an acknowledgment of the commitment of our team and children for the fifth year in a row and is an emphatic endorsement that we are on the right path."
"It is a wonderful feeling for the IHS family to sustain 'Outstanding' for the last five years. It has been made possible by the focus, passion and teamwork of all our stakeholders - the management, staff, students and parent community. The Indian High School continues to provide top notch quality education at affordable prices," said Ashok Kumar,CEO of Indian High School.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com