Indian, Pakistani schools can do better: KHDA

School inspectors at Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) have released their findings from the latest school inspection cycle for Indian and Pakistani schools.

Key findings from the report highlight an immediate need to improve kindergarten education in schools as they fall short of expectations.

More than half of all students in Dubai’s Indian schools receive a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ quality of education but the number of students receiving ‘unsatisfactory’ education has also doubled. A total of 26 schools were evaluated by inspectors from Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) and only two were found to be outstanding — Dubai Modern High School and Indian High School.

Of the 23 schools which were inspected, seven were rated as good, 12 as acceptable and two schools were unsatisfactory. The 51-page report provides a detailed account of where the schools have done well and how the schools could do better.

Kindergarten education has been regarded as a major concern with almost a quarter of all Indian schools providing an unsatisfactory quality.

“Good teaching and learning are seen in only half as many kindergarten classes compared to secondary classes. Around 20 per cent of the teaching and learning in kindergarten in Indian schools is of an unsatisfactory quality,” read a section of the report.

Limited progress in early years can impact the development of a student in primary and higher grades as the report pointed the need to make reforms in teaching style.

“The most common teaching style in kindergarten is direct class instruction by the teacher, which means that children sit passively, listening for long periods of time. Teachers of the youngest children often do not understand how young children learn best and so do not provide opportunities for them to communicate, think, and find things out for themselves,” added the report.

Children’s limited progress in kindergarten also impacts on progress in the primary phase. Inspectors reported a better quality of teaching in the middle and secondary phases.

Another concern cited was the inability of schools to identify the needs of special students. A total of 3,113 students with special educational needs are enrolled in Indian schools.

However, school inspectors from DSIB observed “a number of important weaknesses in the arrangements at almost all Indian curricula schools.”

Identification of students with special needs was ‘too slow’ and inaccurate. Teachers were also found to not be adequately trained to handle their needs.

“Indian school teachers lack expertise and specialised knowledge to support students with special needs in lessons. School leaders and teachers need to work much harder and more creatively to persuade parents that this is in their child’s best interests,” read the report.

The emphasis by teachers at Indian schools to complete the syllabus also came under scrutiny as school inspectors noted the trend of ‘extra-classes’.

“Often, the pace of learning is too rapid for some students. In a few schools, teachers sometimes try to provide extra lessons before or after school,” noted the report.

While school inspections have received mixed reviews from parents and school leaders, the results have been based completely on evidence.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director-General of the KHDA, said the inspections were not intended to pressurise schools.

“Inspection is a quality measurement and improvement tool. It is not a policing tool. It is an effort to improve the quality of education,” he told Khaleej Times.

The limited improvement in Indian schools comes as a concern for school leaders as the regulatory authority also noted a few good indicators. Positive student behaviour and good provisions for health, safety and support of students were lauded by the inspectors.

Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of DSIB had simple advice for schools looking to improve the rating. She said: “Make the school more inclusive. We need the involvement of parents. If the parents and the schools come together, then there will be a lot of productivity and improvement.”

New schools inspected for the first time by the authority lauded the report as an ‘eye-opener’.

“We are very new to the entire system. There are areas where we have been appreciated and areas where we have been asked to improve. The inspection was rigorous but during the entire process we have learned a lot from inspectors,” said Chitra Sharma, Principal of JSS Private School in Dubai, which was rated ‘acceptable’.

Three Pakistani schools were also evaluated as part of the inspection cycle. Only one school, Pakistan Education Academy, was rated ‘acceptable’. The school improved its rating from being an ‘unsatisfactory’ school over the last three years while the other two continue to remain unsatisfactory.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com

What needs to change?

• Smaller class size: Inspectors report concerns over large classes and cramped learning conditions, especially in kindergarten in a few schools. It is not uncommon, in Indian curriculum schools, for example, to find classes of more than 25 children in kindergarten and more than 30 in the other elementary classes.
• Better Arabic teaching: A few Indian curriculum schools fail to comply with the Ministry of Education requirements for the time allocated to teaching Arabic in a few grades. This shortage of teaching time is observed by inspectors to impact negatively on students’ progress. In a few schools, it is also the case that Arabic teachers are not appropriately skilled or qualified.
• Punishment: Inappropriate punishment continues to occur in a few schools. In a number of cases, students have made complaints against their school in relation to physical punishment. Behaviour management in these schools relied on negative, rather than positive reinforcement, with students feeling humiliated and, at times, disaffected.

Source: Key Findings: Indian & Pakistani School Inspections (KHDA)