Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority will restart quality assurance visits to private schools from the 2026-27 academic year, marking a formal return to structured inspections after a two-year period of remote oversight.
The move is part of a broader push to raise educational standards under Dubai's Education 33 Strategy, which places student outcomes at the centre of learning and feeds into wider goals under the Dubai Plan 2033 and Dubai Economic Agenda.
The Education Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency, operating under KHDA, will deploy two types of visits. The first is a full inspection carried out by specialist teams using the UAE School Inspection Framework, resulting in a comprehensive report and overall school rating. Schools completing their third year of operation in Dubai will automatically undergo this process. The second is a shorter monitoring visit targeting specific areas flagged through data analysis, producing a focused report without issuing a new overall rating.
A key feature of the programme is that selected schools will receive no more than 24 hours' notice before a visit, ensuring inspections capture an accurate picture of everyday school life rather than a prepared performance.
Over the past two years, KHDA maintained oversight through self-evaluation report reviews, data analysis and visits limited to new and newly established schools. The resumed programme will now assess how effectively schools have used that period to improve.
Fatma Belrehif, CEO of the Education Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency, said the differentiated inspection model acknowledges that schools are at different stages of development, allowing inspectors to direct attention where it matters most for student outcomes.
KHDA said the programme supports Dubai's ambition to become a globally recognised hub for high-quality education.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
