According to the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) annual report, which was made public on the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) website today, many schools that claim to provide a British curriculum fail to meet prescribed criteria.
While 12 UK curriculum schools in Dubai showed marked improvement, 12 declined in rank and 25 schools retained their grades from the first inspection cycle. Two were rated as ‘Outstanding’ in the recently concluded inspections.
The 2010 annual education report states that some schools that claim to follow the English National Curriculum do not offer the full range and content of the curriculum. They do not employ the framework of attainment targets to measure and benchmark their students’ progress against those in other schools.
Similar concerns over inconsistency in British education standards by schools abroad were raised earlier this year by the UK government. A new scheme was proposed by the Independent Schools Council and Council of British International Schools (COBIS) in January that will enable schools abroad to be inspected against common set of criteria. Information of schools that are approved will be made available by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for students and parents planning to enroll in UK schools outside the country.
At present, British tagged schools do not have any formal recognition and many have been found to be teaching a local curriculum being instructed in the English language.
