Schools told to go for international accreditation
The best way for UAE schools to achieve world class education standards is to move towards international accreditation, said Lesley Stagg, chairperson of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) and principal of the Dubai-based Greenfield Community School.
She was speaking to Khaleej Times recently on the sidelines of a workshop on international accreditation at the Global Education Forum, a part of the Global Education Suppliers Show (GESS).
Stagg, also accreditation adviser for the Council for International Schools (CIS), said, “Some of the international schools already have international accreditation and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, wants education in the UAE to be world class. The best way to do that is for schools to meet international accreditation standards.”
Dispelling notions that accreditation is expensive, she said, “Accreditation is not very expensive. The school has to take care of the team of people coming to do the accreditation. Apart from that, it is done on a school-based, self evaluation model. Accreditation is a way of taking a school from point A to point B. However, the evaluation is done by educators, parents and the students in the school.”
Stagg noted that accreditation is a way of assuring parents that their children are in a school which meets at least the minimum set of standards. “Also, it benefits admission of final year students to top universities around the world as universities would like to know students are coming from accredited schools. It puts schools on the academic global map.”
Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the education body in Dubai, has been encouraging schools to opt for accreditation.
The process of accreditation takes 18 months, where there is an initial visit from a CIS adviser or a CIS officer for two days, where they meet with the head of the school and staff. They help the school identify how they can run their self evaluation process over the next 18 months. During the time, school sets up sub-committees and committees for different areas to meet the criteria.
After 18 months, a visiting team of at least eight members from CIS come and make an assessment whether the school meets the criteria for accreditation or whether it can meet and needs the time to do so or whether it meets the criteria at all. The school has to be in operation for three years to apply for international accreditation. The school has to go through the entire process of accreditation again every 10 years. Source
She was speaking to Khaleej Times recently on the sidelines of a workshop on international accreditation at the Global Education Forum, a part of the Global Education Suppliers Show (GESS).
Stagg, also accreditation adviser for the Council for International Schools (CIS), said, “Some of the international schools already have international accreditation and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, wants education in the UAE to be world class. The best way to do that is for schools to meet international accreditation standards.”
Dispelling notions that accreditation is expensive, she said, “Accreditation is not very expensive. The school has to take care of the team of people coming to do the accreditation. Apart from that, it is done on a school-based, self evaluation model. Accreditation is a way of taking a school from point A to point B. However, the evaluation is done by educators, parents and the students in the school.”
Stagg noted that accreditation is a way of assuring parents that their children are in a school which meets at least the minimum set of standards. “Also, it benefits admission of final year students to top universities around the world as universities would like to know students are coming from accredited schools. It puts schools on the academic global map.”
Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the education body in Dubai, has been encouraging schools to opt for accreditation.
The process of accreditation takes 18 months, where there is an initial visit from a CIS adviser or a CIS officer for two days, where they meet with the head of the school and staff. They help the school identify how they can run their self evaluation process over the next 18 months. During the time, school sets up sub-committees and committees for different areas to meet the criteria.
After 18 months, a visiting team of at least eight members from CIS come and make an assessment whether the school meets the criteria for accreditation or whether it can meet and needs the time to do so or whether it meets the criteria at all. The school has to be in operation for three years to apply for international accreditation. The school has to go through the entire process of accreditation again every 10 years. Source
No comments:
Post a Comment