Indian, Pak schools in Dubai fall short of expectations

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA Chairman, said schools had done well, but called for an 'exponential' growth to improve educational standards.

Indian and Pakistani schools in Dubai are falling short of expectations and senior government officials have questioned the pace of development at these schools.

A new report by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) slammed teaching standards and called on teachers to 'respond to specific needs of students'.

'There has been too little professional development for many teachers and school leaders have failed to address or prioritise teaching methods,' said the report released earlier today.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of KHDA, noted that the schools had done well so far, but called for an 'exponential' growth to improve educational standards.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Dr Abdulla said: 'The progress over last five years has been linear. Maybe what we have done till now at schools was good enough up to this point. Going forward there have to be significant improvements.'

Interestingly, eight out of 10 Indian schools were given recommendations to improve teaching, and only one of the 21 inspected schools made a progress. The JSS International School was the only school to improve its rating from 'acceptable' to 'good'.

GEMS Modern Academy and Indian High School continued to remain the only 'outstanding' Indian schools.