Pupil ban will drive improvements at under-performing schools in Abu Dhabi

On Tuesday Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) said schools in the emirate rated as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ would not be allowed to register new or transferred students.

DUBAI // Failing schools are facing the financial realities of operating as private businesses that do not provide adequate services, experts say.

A ban on private schools rated poor or very poor enrolling more pupils was issued this week by the Abu Dhabi Education Council.

It will apply until the schools improve standards enough to be given a satisfactory rating.

Jeff Evans, from Learning Key Education Consultancy, said the decision was in line with the strategy to improve education standards.

“At the end of the day, they are private companies with owners who have to seriously look at how they can improve resources,” he said. “But it is a delicate balance between education and investing in resources.

“This is the first time we are seeing such action by the regulator but schools have been aware of the need to improve for years.”

Twenty-six schools received the poorer ratings after two cycles of inspections. They were told of the ban in March.

The regulator inspects every two years and gives detailed data on weaknesses. Schools are required to provide improvement plans and development strategies.

But significant improvements had been made and there are far fewer poor-quality private schools, Mr Evans said.

“There has been a desire to get a higher percentage of Emirati pupils into band A or the higher performing schools.”

For many Emirati families, switching to government-run schools was an attractive alternative, he said.

“The Government has placed significant resources to improve their quality over the years and the standard is higher compared to some of the private schools that run the Ministry of Education curriculum.”

Last week, Dubai’s education regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, released its annual report that rated 60 schools as “acceptable or below”.

The authority limits the amount by which weak schools can increase tuition fees. This year the bottom 10 performing schools can only raise fees by 2.4 per cent, which is about the level of inflation.

Emily Jardine, reviews editor at whichschooladvisor.com, said it is a challenge for any school to raise student attainment and progress.

“We’ve seen that regardless of enrolment, schools need to invest in strong leadership and strong teaching talent,” Ms Jardine said.

“This will have the greatest impact on a school’s ability to rise in its ranking and provide a higher quality of education to its students, more so than a push for increased enrolment or investment in facilities.”

Abu Dhabi has about 185 private schools operating in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra.

“There are a lot of high-performing schools – some, not all, with higher fees so that is an alternative for parents who may not be able to send their child to a particular school,” said Mr Evans.

“But these are over-subscribed so it is going to be a challenge for parents to get into them.

“The emirate also has low-fee, high-performing schools so that is another option for parents but again there are issues with over subscription.”