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61% Dubai students get 'good' education

KHDA inspection of Dubai's private schools using UAE School Inspection Framework shows record improvements

A total of 28 private schools in Dubai have improved their overall rating in the 2015-2016 school inspection cycle carried out by Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the largest increase since inspections were first carried out during the 2008/2009 academic year.

Of the 253,319 students being educated in the 149 schools inspected for the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) report, 61 per cent - 154,173 students, of which 31,736 are Emirati - now attend schools with a 'good or better' quality of education. This shows an eight per cent increase, from 53 per cent (154,173 students) in the 2014/2015 academic year and 30 per cent in 2008/2009.
Notably, this year's inspection, the first conducted by DSIB using the UAE School Inspection Framework, is based on comprehensive performance standards that define the aspects of a quality education. Among the important changes with the new framework are the inclusion of  'very good' level and 'very weak' categories. Of the 28 schools that improved their performance over the course of the last year, three went from 'good' to 'outstanding'; 12 went from 'good' to 'very good'; 10 from 'acceptable' to 'good', and three schools went from 'weak' to 'acceptable'.
"This year has seen an outstanding jump in the number of students who are able to get a better education in Dubai," said Fatma Belrehif, Executive Director of Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) at KHDA. "French, IB, UK, and the Indian curricula to a certain extent have observed good increments in their overall performance."
Only five schools' performances declined - one from 'outstanding' to 'very good'; one from 'good' to 'acceptable'; and three from 'acceptable' to 'weak'. Not a single school was assessed as being 'very weak.'
Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Chairman and Director-General of KHDA, attributed the staggering improvements this year - which at eight per cent are more than double the average of previous years - in large part due to the availability of school seats as compared to previous years.
"Unlike four or five years ago, we have more seats available today," he said. "Before, maybe there was not a lot of improvement because seats in 'good' or 'outstanding' were limited in number. But because of the growth strategy that we focused on, and because the growth was very well managed quality growth, 'good' and above seats are more available for parents, and I think parents are exercising those choices now. This is what is making the schools improve, because of market competition and availability of seats," he added.
Looking to the future, Dr Al Karam said he expected improvements to continue exponentially from now on.
"We've been getting a linear growth of two or three per cent, but coming in and hitting eight per cent is the beginning," he said. "I have a good feeling that we'll get better."
Special needs
This year, 39 schools - 26 per cent - improved the quality of their provisions for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) students.
A total of 60 per cent of the inspected schools are now able to identify correctly the number and nature of students with Send, compared to 32 per cent just two years ago.
Additionally, 65 per cent of schools were found to have 'good or better' partnerships with Send parents, compared to 49 per cent in 2013/2014, and 44 per cent were able to consistently modify their curriculum or delivery methods to meet the needs of students with Send, compared to 34 per cent in 2013/2014.
Quality of leadership
The report notes significant improvements in governance and leadership in Dubai's private schools, with 64 per cent of schools showing 'good or better' leadership this year, compared to 60 per cent in 2014/2015.
Additionally, 58 per cent of schools were assessed as having 'good or better' governance and 69 per cent as having 'good or better' care and support, compared to last year's scores of 52 per cent and 65 per cent, respectively.

Schools with declining performances:
> Horizons English School (Outstanding to Very Good)
> Mirdif Private School (Good to Acceptable)
>International Academic School (Acceptable to Weak)
> Al Maaref Private School (LLC) (Acceptable to Weak)
> Dubai Arabian American Private School (Acceptable to Weak)
 
 
bernd@khaleejtimes.com