No Emirati students studying in weak schools: KHDA report

Dubai - Three schools with the highest proportions of Emirati students improved their overall ratings.

For the first time, there are no Emirati students in weak schools, the KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority) said on Sunday.

Three schools with the highest proportions of Emirati students improved their overall ratings: two from Acceptable to Good, and one from Weak to Acceptable.

One of Dubai's education goals is to have 100 per cent of Emirati students in schools with Good or better overall inspection ratings. In 2018-2019, this figure was 70 per cent, an increase of eight percentage points compared to 62 per cent in 2017-2018.

Even schools that did not improve their overall ratings and which are still rated acceptable showed improvements in one or more quality indicators.

New schools in Dubai are inspected in their third year of operation. 64 per cent of the schools inspected for the first time this year achieved a Good or better overall rating.

Across the 11 newly inspected schools, key areas of strength included students' personal and social development, health and safety, and management, staffing, facilities and resources. Their key areas for development included students' attainment and progress in Islamic education and Arabic.

Quite a few improvements have also been noted, in terms of quality indicators from last year to this year. While 10 per cent (18 schools) improved their overall judgement, 91 per cent schools improved in one or more quality indicators.

In total, 1,528 judgements improved across the 165 schools that were inspected in 2018-2019 and 2017-2018 (this excludes the 11 schools inspected for the first time). Of these improved judgements, 60 per cent related to students' outcomes, 31 per cent related to school's provisions for learners, and 9 per cent related to leadership.

In a move aimed at benefiting parents across Dubai's private schools, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced latest school inspection results ahead of time in April, 2019.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), noted the early announcement of school inspection results was aimed at giving parents more time to choose better quality schools.

Making new mini-school reports available for quick information before deciding on new schools, parents can access individual school inspection results from the KHDA website. Each parent also receives individual feedback about their child's schools in e-mails sent to parents across Dubai's private schools.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com