Dubai's KHDA Announces Pause On Some School Inspections For 2025-26

No inspections will be conducted for Dubai private schools during the 2025-26 academic year, the emirate's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced on Friday, May 16.

“The decision – part of an evolving approach to supporting quality education in the emirate – applies to all private schools, except for those in their third year of operation, that will be subject to a full inspection,” KHDA said in a statement shared with Khaleej Times.

“(We) will continue to monitor school performance through targeted visits focused on specific areas related to educational quality and ongoing development. These visits will be informed by feedback from the school community and aligned with the Education 33 strategy's priorities,” KHDA added.

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“Dubai's private schools have consistently demonstrated resilience, innovation, and a deep commitment to students' learning and wellbeing,” Fatma Ibrahim Belrehif, CEO of the Education Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency at KHDA further explained.

She noted:“The suspension of inspections next year will allow for greater collaboration and reflection on how we define and support quality in education. Through targeted visits and ongoing engagement with schools, we will ensure that every child in Dubai continues to receive a high quality education that aligns with (our) goals.”

All schools, however, are expected to continue administering external benchmark assessments to monitor and report students' academic progress. Schools will also be required to provide regular updates through their self-evaluation forms (SEF).

According to Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB), SEF outline the improvement process of a school, where they are asked to respond to specific questions about their“provision for special educational needs, early years formation, innovation, the UAE National Agenda, social studies and students for whom English is an additional language (EAL).”

All schools must complete the KHDA self-evaluation online document at least two weeks before their inspections.

Meanwhile, KHDA early this month approved private schools in Dubai to raise school fees for next academic year on the basis of Education Cost Index (ECI) of 2.35 per cent.

In Dubai, for-profit schools can increase their fees based on their individual school grade as per the results of the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB), and the ECI which is calculated on a regular basis. Any fee increase can only be implemented for a particular academic year and cannot be carried forward to the upcoming academic years.

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