24 Schools Sign Up to School Contracts
A legally binding contract defining the responsibilities and relationships between parents and schools is being extended to cover 24 schools with nearly 40,000 pupils.
The contract, devised by Dubai's education regulator, the KHDA,covers admissions, fees, curriculum and educational programmes, attendance and punctuality, attitudes and behaviour, health and safety, transport and communication.
In total 22,885 Emiratis, 78% of the Emirati student population in Dubai’s private schools, will now be covered by the contract. It covers approximately 16% of the total student body studying at KHDA inspected schools, some 237,735 students according to the education regulator's latest numbers.
The schools that have adopted the contract are: Greenwood International School, New World School Private, Al Mawakeb School, Al Maaref Private School, Mirdif Private School, New Academy School, Sharjah & American International Private School, International Academic School, Al Arqm Private School, Al Mizhar American Academy School, Dar Al Marefa School, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Islamic Institute, Dubai National School, Al Ittihad Private School, Dubai Modern Education School, Dubai National School, Dubai International Private School, Al Ittihad Private School, Al Khaleej National School, Modern Skills School, the School of Research Science, Dubai International Private School, Dubai Arabian American Private School and Al Shurooq Private School.
Parents of these schools will be required to sign the contract before their children can register for classes in the 2014/15 academic year.
The extension follows a pilot scheme at six schools with about 10,000 pupils, when the number of parent-school disputes fell to 32 from 40 year on year - an approximate 20% decline.
