Education authorities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah are sending inspectors into private schools and their findings are expected later this year.
Abu Dhabi is yet to say when inspection results will be published, but Dubai will announce them before the end of the academic year in June and Sharjah will release them in March.
The inspections are designed to ensure that schools perform well in all areas and give parents a clear understanding of what schools offer, their strengths and weaknesses and help them find one best suited to their children.
The schools are rated as outstanding, very good, good, acceptable and unacceptable - with the best ones qualifying for the highest fee increases.
In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, inspections in person were halted during the coronavirus pandemic and inspectors assessed schools using online means.
Dubai
Dubai’s private schools' regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), is inspecting schools at present and reports are expected by June.
KHDA began assessing schools in 2008 and the inspections are carried out every year.
Sixty-nine out of more than 200 schools were inspected during the first phase of inspections between October and December 2008.
In 2019, the last year of in-person assessment, 176 schools were inspected, including 11 for the first time.
That year, 17 schools given an outstanding rating included Kings’ School Dubai, Gems Wellington, Gems Jumeirah College and Dubai College. Another 28 were rated very good, 74 were ranked good and 52 were rated acceptable. Five were rated weak.
Dubai's government has frozen private tuition fees for three years in a row. Before that, fees could be raised by about 2 per cent to 5 per cent annually, depending on academic performance.
Any increase in tuition fees is based on the Education Cost Index (ECI), announced annually by regulators.
The ECI measures annual changes in school running costs, including salaries, rents and utilities.
Both the ECI and the fee framework were developed in collaboration with government departments such as the Dubai Statistics Centre, the Department of Economic Development and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) is in the process of inspecting private schools but has not revealed when results may be announced.
Inspection ratings for private schools in the emirate were last published by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Education and Knowledge in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of the evaluation, schools were judged in several categories, including pupils’ achievement, personal and social development, innovation skills, teaching and assessment, and leadership and management of the school.
Nine top-ranked private schools included some that have been named among the world’s top 100. Aldar Academies’ Al Yasmina and The Pearl were the only schools to be added to the outstanding list after the 2019-2020 inspection cycle.
The emirate is home to 23 schools rated very good and 68 schools ranked good and one rated weak.
Schools in the emirate are inspected every two years.
The average increase in fees is about 3 per cent and has to be approved by ADEK.
Sharjah
The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) launched the first phase of its inspection programme in October 2022 and 36 private schools have been assessed so far.
Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, chairman of Sharjah Private Education Authority, confirmed that the second phase of the inspections will end in March and 74 schools will be assessed.
Schools will be evaluated on their performance in categories such as pupils' achievements, well-being and protection as well as teaching assessments, curriculum, and leadership.
Experts from SPEA will spend four days in each school as part of the process.
Sharjah's private schools will be provided with detailed reports outlining the schools' strengths and weaknesses.
SPEA said schools could also face administrative penalties if they failed to improve.
These include not being able to increase fees and being prohibited from implementing expansion plans until they improve their performance and ranking.
The assessment will happen once every two years for schools that are rated good and once every four years for schools that get an excellent or very good ranking.
Dubai’s top ranked schools - in pictures
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Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
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Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”