Dubai private school inspections revamped: 24-hour notice visits, AI-driven data and fees linked to last rating

Dubai: Aisha Abdullah Miran, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, confirmed that the Education Cost Index will be announced by next April. She revealed a new model for monitoring Dubai’s private schools, reflecting their performance on ordinary days, while each school’s data and performance indicators determine the nature of the monitoring intervention, and the comprehensive visit may lead to a change in its overall assessment. Miran emphasised the focus on utilising artificial intelligence technologies in sorting and analysing school data and evidence, in parallel with human review, to direct oversight to areas of actual need. She explained that the final assessment may take about three months to be approved, while any increase in fees remains closely linked to the last approved inspection assessment of the school. In detail, Miran confirmed that decisions related to any increase in fees will still be based on the latest approved inspection assessment of the school, meaning that suspending the traditional inspection cycle does not negate the effect of the last assessment in the mechanisms regulating fees. She noted that the Education Cost Index has not yet been calculated and is expected to be announced by next April, in light of relevant economic data and indicators, including inflation levels and their effects. She added that the data of private schools and their actual performance indicators will determine the type of supervisory visit they are subject to, while the deadline for notifying the school of the visit may not exceed 24 hours, within the framework of the school education quality assurance system that was resumed during the current academic year after the suspension of the traditional inspection cycle for two years. Aisha Abdullah Miran, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority. Picture credit: Supplied In media statements, she said that the system is moving to a more flexible, data-driven oversight model, instead of subjecting schools to standardised and repeated inspection cycles. This allows for directing visits and oversight resources to schools and aspects most in need of follow-up, and gives educational institutions more space to focus on sustainable improvement and raising the quality of practices within classrooms. She stated that the authority is moving more broadly towards interventions tailored to the needs of each school, so that data identifies areas where tangible improvement can be achieved, whether it relates to the quality of teaching, leadership, the performance of a specific group of students, or a particular aspect of the educational process. She added that the visits allow for more relevant observations and recommendations that are more connected to practical reality, and enable leaders and teachers to translate quality assurance results into actionable procedures within classrooms, rather than being satisfied with a general judgment that does not directly address areas for improvement. She pointed out that the Authority is focusing on utilising artificial intelligence technologies to support the sorting and analysis of data and evidence, in parallel with human review, which enhances the system’s ability to deal with a larger volume of indicators and identify the areas and schools most in need of intervention. She added that the goal is not to increase the number of visits, but to maximise the impact of each visit, so that the specific intervention leads to the development of classroom practice, or the improvement of the experience of a group of students, or addressing a challenge in school leadership, leading to a gradual and sustainable improvement in the quality of education. She stated that the most prominent development in school inspection operations is the division of quality assurance visits into two main types, according to the nature of the follow-up and its purpose, stressing that schools do not know in advance whether the visit they will be subjected to is classified under either of them, either before the visit or during its implementation, as its type is determined based on an integrated reading of the school’s data, its performance indicators and the available evidence. She explained that the classification is determined based on a set of factors and indicators, most notably student achievement results, school leadership performance, quality of teaching and learning, training and development, student protection, and parent complaints, in addition to data and evidence that monitor the school's performance, strengths, and areas that require follow-up and improvement. She explained that the first type, the "Total Quality Assurance Visit" (QA1), involves a comprehensive evaluation of the school's performance according to the approved quality assurance framework, and its results may lead to a change in the school's overall rating. The second type, the "Quality Assurance Review Visit" (QA2), focuses