The real test for Dubai’s schools

It is important to also look at weak schools’ ratings to measure education progress

To really judge Dubai’s education sector, the authorities need to look beyond high-ratings schools like Gems Royal Dubai School. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The improved performance of Dubai's private schools in the latest report by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority is a healthy sign that the education system is heading in the right direction. According to the report, which will be published in full on the KHDA website on Monday, 28 private schools have improved their rankings this academic year, and the number of pupils who receive a good or better education has more than doubled since 2008, reaching 61 per cent.

As KHDA director general Abdulla Al Karam explained, this progress has been made in part through the authority’s annual inspection process but also in response to market factors, including increased capacity and the greater level of competition between private schools to attract students.

But the good performance of some schools in the league table – such as Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou, Dubai International Academy and Gems Royal Dubai School – ought not to obscure a sober assessment of the overall state of the education system in the emirate. After all, these schools are well-established and have the financial resources to attract good teachers and improve their overall performance.

Instead, the true test of efforts to improve the education sector is in how quickly schools with poor ratings, such as the non-profit Crescent English High School, can turn things around. The school's principal, Susan Varghese, said it continues to face budgetary challenges, making it hard to to attract, train and retain teachers and improve their learning resources. Other low-budget schools are also caught in the same situation, because they can't raise their fees unless they raise their standards first.

It is vital that there is collaboration between education authorities and these schools to ensure that they are able to improve. These schools are important because they cater forwe n a segment of the population that may not be able to afford a more expensive education but whose parents’ skills are needed by this country. We should keep looking at these schools to judge real progress.