More than half of all schools in Dubai have scored only “acceptable” in the latest round of inspections that have caused controversy across the emirate, it was reported on Saturday.
A second batch of quality inspections at 189 public and private schools in the emirate saw one in eight deemed “unsatisfactory” and none rated as “outstanding”.
Of the 22 schools found to be “unsatisfactory” 17 were private, a finding that lends more weight to complaints from private school parents who say they are paying high fees for sub-standard education.
Not even Dubai’s most expensive schools; Repton School Dubai and the Gems World Academy received the top ratings – earning a "good" and "acceptable" respectively, according to a report in UAE daily The National.
The inspections were carried out by teams from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) that spent three and five days at each school, assessing student progress, quality of teaching and learning, curriculum and school leadership.
They took place between October and April this year, with the first results published on April 2.
Findings have highlighted serious flaws in Dubai schools, ranging from health and safety to poor student outcomes and low levels of teacher competency.
Each school has received a report of its own results and is now expected to draw up an action plan on the back of the findings.
“These reports give schools an insight into how they can best work towards improving themselves,” said Dr Abdulla Al Karam, the director general of the KHDA said in a statement.
“It is a framework which they have never had before,” he added
Schools deemed unsatisfactory will be expected to take swift action to improve quality, according to Karam, who has made it clear that he will not hesitate to shut schools that fail to improve.
However, the inspection scheme has stoked controversy as the results will be linked to a capping system for annual fee hikes.
Only “outstanding” schools will be allowed to increase fees by as much as 15 per cent, while “unsatisfactory” ones will be restricted to a seven percent rise.
Many private schools, who depend on fees for income, have criticised the capping system for fees, warning that it could make it more difficult for poorly performing schools to improve.
Source: arabianbusiness.com
it's true that private schools suck. High-fees, substandard quality of education.
Most schools with non-Asian curricula charge huge fees, because they think western expats have salaris of no less than AED 20-30K plus all expenses paid and lots of fringe benefits. Well, that's NOT TRUE. Such schools are so much mroe expensive than the shcools with Asian curricula.
it's high time the authorities should look into putting a cap on the fees people are charged