KHDA Inspections. Legitimate?

I am a frequent follower of educational news in UAE.  One thing I would like to understand is what are the basis of inspections by the KHDA, and by that I mean what are the criteria under which the KHDA gives rankings to schools.

Secondly, would it not be better if the KHDA gave surprise inspections to schools and not go with appointments, because with appointments, there is little or no actual school life seen; it’s all made for that day..?

 

Noor Default Asked on January 8, 2015 in Inspection Reports.
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Hi Noor,

A good question, and the idea of surprise inspections has been brought up many times before. It’s also something the KHDA itself recognises and in the past has said it may make part of its process (http://whichschooladvisor.com/news/surprise-inspections-for-dubai-schools-next-year/). There is a flip side to it however – more on that in a moment.

However to start with – criteria. The KHDA makes these public, and actually has a document that you can read on its web site. You can download it here: http://khda.gov.ae/CMS/WebParts/TextEditor/Documents/handbook2014English.pdf

You will find it exhaustive – but if you are truly interested it gives you the nuts and bolts of what exactly the KHDA’s inspection team looks for, which actually – as you would expect – evolves year on year.

Key changes in the next round of reports will include a greater emphasis in raising attainment in mathematics and science. The UAE wants to improve in international benchmarks like PISA, so inspectors will assess how schools use the results of international tests to guide development. How schools look after students with disabilities and special educational needs is likely to become a greater focus. We have also understood that inspectors will begin to look beyond just results at how private schools develop the human being…

In terms of flash inspections versus appointments, we actually have an article on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com that discusses the benefits of each. We think doing both would be great – but would be costly – both for the KHDA, and also schools and students…

You can find the article here – http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/uae-schools-surprise-inspection-debate/

Default Answered on May 2, 2015.
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