Dubai's education regulator has announced the return of private school inspections from the 2026-27 academic year as part of efforts to enhance educational quality across the emirate.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said the renewed quality assurance visits will support the goals of Dubai's Education 33 Strategy, which focuses on student-centred learning and raising standards for all learners.
Following the publication of inspection results for 209 schools in 2024, regular inspections were temporarily paused while the authority reviewed and developed its approach to quality assurance.
Under the updated framework, schools will receive either a comprehensive inspection or a targeted monitoring visit. Full inspections will assess schools against the UAE School Inspection Framework and include an overall rating. Monitoring visits will focus on specific areas identified through performance data and will provide recommendations without issuing a new rating.
Schools will receive no more than 24 hours' notice before inspections, allowing evaluators to observe everyday teaching, learning and student wellbeing more accurately.
In the latest published ratings, 23 schools were classified as outstanding and 48 achieved a very good rating.