“You spoke, we listened.” That was the message from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) today as it launched the third Annual Report of school inspections in Dubai.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) inspected 79 public schools and 136 private schools between October 2010 and April 2011. The inspectors visited around 16,000 classes and conducted some 2,400 interviews with students and staff, as well as giving every parent the opportunity to answer an online survey.
After studying everyone’s feedback, DSIB has told school principals about a variety of improvements to the way it works. Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General at KHDA – of which the inspection bureau is a part – said: “It was time for us to give something back. We are all working with the same aim, to improve our schools, and we wanted everyone who works so hard with us to receive a gift.”
Students told KHDA: “We want a voice.” During next year’s inspections, Grade 10, 11, and 12 students will be surveyed before inspectors visit their school.
Teachers told KHDA they want a chance to talk confidentially about their school during the inspection process. From this September, every qualified teacher will be surveyed before their school is inspected.
Principals said they wanted the inspectors’ handbook which outlines their procedures to be clearer, so DSIB held a focus group and changed the language used in the handbook.
KHDA has decided that all schools will again be inspected in the coming year. At the same time, they are introducing a mandatory self-evaluation process for Good and Outstanding schools so they can assess whether schools are ready to conduct their own assessments. DSIB has also altered its schedules for next year so Unsatisfactory schools have more time to make improvements. Unsatisfactory schools will also get follow-through and full inspections.
Owners and investors asked that the results of DSIB’s inspections should be made public earlier, which will happen. DSIB has asked owners and investors that they comply with KHDA’s guidelines for the use of the results in advertising material.
Over the next year, KHDA will also build a clearer picture of how Nationals are progressing in private schools, and what is happening with the education of children with special needs. Next year, KHDA will produce separate reports on both these matters from observations made during inspections.
At the launch of the third Annual Report today, Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief of DSIB, said: “After three years, we can now look back and see how schools are progressing. This is why, for the first time, we have been able to include trends in our report. We hope that everyone who cares about education in Dubai will find this information useful.
“We are pleased that feedback from everyone involved in our inspections has resulted in so many positive improvements. School inspections are a process that is evolving, and so is the conversation that the inspections have started. We look forward to making these innovations work next year when inspect the private schools.”
School inspection results from the past three years
For the academic year 2010-2011, DSIB inspected 215 schools. Of these, 79 are public and 136 are private. The breakdown of results is:
- Public: Outstanding: 6; Good: 33; Acceptable: 39; Unsatisfactory: 1.
- Private: Outstanding: 6; Good: 49; Acceptable: 65; and Unsatisfactory: 16.
For the academic year 2009-2010, 209 schools were inspected by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB). This included 23 Indian and Pakistani schools which were inspected for the first time.
- Five schools were rated as Outstanding; 73 were Good; 106 Acceptable; 25 were Unsatisfactory.
Breaking those figures down into public and private schools, the categories are:
- Public: 3 Outstanding; 30 Good; 37 Acceptable; and 8 Unsatisfactory. Total: 78
- Private: 2 Outstanding; 43 Good; 69 Acceptable, and 17 Unsatisfactory. Total: 131
In the first-ever round of inspections, in academic year 2008-2009, the results were:
- Public schools: Good, 32; Acceptable, 43; Unsatisfactory, 5. None was outstanding. Total: 80
- Private schools: Outstanding, 4; Good, 34; Acceptable, 54; and Unsatisfactory, 17. Total: 109 (No Indian or Pakistani schools were inspected)
For the three Annual Reports, the Inspection Handbook, the Self-Evaluation process, and individual reports for Dubai’s private schools, please go to www.khda.gov.ae
