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The much-awaited annual Irtiqaa inspections also rated 37 schools in the emirate as ‘very good’
Abu Dhabi, April 11, 2023: About 6% of private schools in Abu Dhabi including three schools of Aldar Academy have been rated as ‘outstanding’ following Irtiqaa inspections – an annual programme that assesses private schools in Abu Dhabi and offers recommendations needed to improve their performance.
A total of 197 private schools were inspected for the academic year 2021-22 following a rigorous inspection and evaluation procedure by the inspectors of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).
While about 19% or 37 schools have been ranked as ‘very good’, 43% or 85 schools received a good certificate and 63 other schools were rated as ‘acceptable’.
The much-awaited results of Irtiqaa inspections follow the UAE Unified School Inspection Framework and cover six performance standards: students’ achievement; students’ personal and social development and their innovation skills; teaching and assessment; curriculum; protection, care, guidance, and support of students; and leadership and management. Each standard incorporates 17 performance indicators to assess each school’s academic and administrative effectiveness.
Meanwhile, ADEK has also revealed the results of the Educational Cost Index (ECI) and announced the approved structure for optional increase of tuition fees for the academic year 2023-24.
Schools that ranked ‘outstanding’ have the option to increase their tuition fees with a maximum cap of 3.94% in the new academic year, while schools that achieved a rating of ‘very good’ qualify for a 3.38% tuition fee addition. Schools rated as ‘good’ are permitted to apply a 2.81% increase, and schools rated ‘acceptable’, ‘weak’ and ‘very weak’ can implement a maximum tuition fee increase of 2.25% – reflecting the ECI score.
The academic year 2023-24 marks the fifth consecutive year that potential private school tuition fee increases have been assessed. This is calculated based on the emirate’s Educational Cost Index (ECI) in collaboration with the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and individual schools’ Irtiqaa inspection scores.
