Dubai school inspections were released ahead of time by Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), in an effort to allow parents more time to decide on high quality education.
Of the 176 private schools inspected by Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB), a total of 18 schools improved their rating in the academic year 2018-2019. Four new schools joined the ‘Outstanding’ category, including Jumeirah English Speaking School, Horizon English School, Dubai English Speaking School, and Kings School Al Barsha.
Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA, said: “Ten years back, only 30 per cent of students received ‘good’ or better quality education and today this number has more than doubled to 70 per cent. It is important for us to keep pushing towards better quality education and keep up with Dubai’s aspiration and future needs.
“Choosing a good school that fits the needs of a child is a big responsibility for parents and we want to make it easier. Good education drives the future of our nation and we want parents to realise the important role they play when it comes to selecting schools offering good education,” Dr Abdulla added.
Fatma Belrehif, Chief of DSIB, said, “Schools with noticeable improvements have been able to consistently integrate inspection findings as part of their overall systematic school improvement plans.” She noted the number of schools offering ‘good’ or better quality education has increased from 38 schools in 2008 to 119 schools in the current academic year.
To read the latest KHDA reports, visit www.khda.gov.ae
Over 90 per cent of Dubai students study in private schools
Table 1: Overall performance in 2018-2019
| Overall performance | Schools | All students | Emirati students |
| Outstanding | 17 | 25,481 | 1,013 |
| Very good | 28 | 57,541 | 1,786 |
| Good | 74 | 110,488 | 18,621 |
| Acceptable | 52 | 76,972 | 9,046 |
| Weak | 5 | 8,312 | 19 |
Table 2: Key numbers for 2018-2019 school inspections
| Number of schools in Dubai | 209 |
| Number of schools in 2018-2019 inspection cycle | 176 |
*Statistics and Figures Supplied by KHDA