Top Indian Schools for Teaching in Dubai, 2018

This year, the DISB inspectors surveyed 3,892 teachers and observed 3,439 lessons across 34 Indian curriculum schools in Dubai.

The results relating to teachers and teaching highlight that, overall, most teachers in Indian schools say they are happy.

This is good news, given that most Indian schools are large with high numbers of both students and teachers. In fact, the KHDA believes the Indian student population to constitute well over one-third of Dubai's student population.

Delhi Private School has almost 4,000 students and 300 teachers, while Our Own High School has over 4,500 students and almost 220 teachers on its books. Yet its the vast Our Own English High School with just over 10,000 students and almost 500 teachers, which remains the city's biggest school.

The issues associated with teaching quality

Inspectors note, that across Indian schools, the biggest issues associated with teaching quality are a lack of consistency across the school.

Differentiation remains a challenge for many schools, which creates a lack of challenge for many students, as does a lack of opportunities for critical thinking or problem solving.

The good news is, now most schools seem to be collecting assessment data. The bad news is that many are still not using it to inform lesson planning or modify the curriculum.

When asked, teachers highlight professional development and training, plus further training in the use and implementation of technology and innovation as key wants within Indian curriculum UAE schools.

Positive Teacher Feedback

When given the opportunity to comment, the vast majority of teachers within the Indian schooling system, remain positive about their particular school. Those that do highlight specific positives,  note training and professional development come top of their list.

Teacher Turnover

Overall, Indian Schools generally register lower teacher turnover than other curricula.

Of note this year is Amled and Our Own High School with zero percent teacher-turnover.

At the other end of the scale is Sabari Indian School with 54% teacher turnover - that is over half the school's teachers left between one academic year and the next.

According to Kenneth Jones, director of education at the school's owner, Al Najah:

“Sabari Indian School underwent a restructuring in 2017  leading to unusually high levels of staff turnover… The staffing at Sabari School is now extremely stable and we continue to invest heavily in the professional and personal development of all our staff.” 

Across the Weak rated schools, teacher turnover is relatively high with Crescent at 31%, Gulf Model School at 30%, and Emirates English Speaking School at 19%.

Interestingly, teacher feedback in these schools was still generally positive, it was only in Emirates English Speaking School where teachers noted their need for continuing professional development and the limited range of technology available in the classroom.

Teacher turnover across the reminder of the schools was between 5% and 20%, although JSS International had 30%, Buds 28% and Gulf Indian 25%.

Read on to discover 5 schools with impressive teaching...