By Sneha May Francis

There has been a marked improvement in the workings of Dubai schools, with 11 schools rated “outstanding” in the latest school inspection report, recorded Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

The number of “outstanding” schools has upped from 6, last year, to 11 in this year’s report, that’s clocked from October 2011 to April 2012.

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In fact, the number of students attending “outstanding” schools has more than tripled from 6,117 students to 18,456, with the report suggesting that nearly half of Dubai’s student population attend “outstanding” or “good” schools.

“The increase in the number of students attending ‘outstanding’ schools is good news. When I look at the total student population, it constitutes 9 per cent, and that’s remarkable,” said Dr. Abdullah Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA.

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But, he is more focused at reducing the number of students attending ‘unsatisfactory’ schools, which he reported, “did not change a lot. It’s still around 10,000 students (that’s 6 per cent of the total student population), but we hope it will reduce”.

According the key findings of the report, number of students in “acceptable” and “unsatisfactory” schools has seen a slight decrease from 56 per cent to 54 per cent this year.

“These results show that for many students in Dubai, the quality of education they receive has improved,” said Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) chief Jameela Al Muhairi.

“The majority of schools are applying the lessons they learn from the inspections, but there is still a lot of work to be done before all schools reach Dubai’s minimum standard of ‘good.’”

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Of the 138 private schools, DSIB rated 49 as “good”, 65 as “acceptable”, and 13 as “unsatisfactory”. The numbers listed under “unsatisfactory” has gone down from 16 last year.

The inspections also included surveys for parents, teachers and students, who shared their views on their school’s strengths and weaknesses. Over 85 per cent of the 37,000 parents who completed the survey said they were happy with the quality of education their children were receiving.

“We are very pleased by how supportive parents have been of the inspections process,” added Al Muhairi.

iPhone App for parents

In a step towards helping parents access inspection results and choose the right school for their children, KHDA has released an iPhone app containing updated curriculum details, student and nationality breakdowns, school contacts, inspection grades and school fee structure.

The schools rated “outstanding” this year are Kings Dubai School, GEMS Wellington International School, Jumeirah College, Jumeriah English Speaking School, Dubai College, GEMS Jumeriah Primary School, Jumeirah English Speaking School Arabian Ranches, Dubai American Academy, Jebel Ali Primary School, Dubai Modern High School, and The Indian High School.

The schools rated “unsatisfactory” are His Highness Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School, Apple International School, Al Worood Academy Private School, New Academy School, Dubai Infants School, English Language Private School, Al Hesn Private School, Dubai American Scientific School, Grammar School, Al Farooq Pakistani Islamic School, Buds Public School, Little Flowers English School, Pakistani Education Academy.

[Picture via Shutterstock]

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