No 'weak' schools in Sharjah, latest inspection report shows

Second edition of Itqan programme evaluated 63 of 129 private schools for the 2023-2024 academic year

Sharjah schools have showed improvement in the latest inspection results. The National

Sharjah schools' report card shows marked “improvement” this year, with no private school rated 'weak' or 'very weak', the emirate's private education regulator found.

The second edition of Sharjah Private Education Authority's (SPEA) Itqan programme evaluated 63 of the 129 private schools for the academic year 2023-2024.

It included schools that had not been previously reviewed and those that obtained an 'acceptable' ranking or below in the first round of inspections held in the 2022-2023 academic year.

The final results rated one school as 'outstanding', nine schools as 'very good', 69 schools as 'good' and 38 as 'acceptable'. No school was rated 'weak' or 'very weak'.

It showed that 100 per cent of private schools in the Emirate provide 'acceptable' or better education, and 68 per cent provide 'good' or better education.

The names of the inspected schools were not disclosed.

SPEA did not confirm if the rankings will be linked to an increase in school fees for the new academic year.

The current results showed a significant improvement in the quality of education provided in the emirate, when compared to the evaluations done in 2018 and 2019. It showed an increase in the number of schools providing 'good' or better education from only eight schools to 79 schools.

The inspected schools covered nine different curriculums and 78,638 pupils.

Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, chairwoman of SPEA, highlighted how the inspections are aimed at developing and improving the quality of private school education and achieving “distinguished education” by 2025.