Dubai, August 18: Education institutions in the emirate will be required to have a service permit that will be issued by the education regulatory authority if they want to operate from this year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said on Monday.
The permit will replace the annual licence that education institutions operate on at the moment. Institutions that do not have this permit will be unable to operate, said an official of KHDA. The KHDA has already begun issuing these permits to providers.
In May, the regulatory authority and the Department of Economic Development (DED) inked a deal to share information regarding the validity of education providers. Some providers that were contacted said they were not aware of the new rule and could not comment. The rule will affect 700 nurseries, schools, universities and training institutions in Dubai.
“Education providers will need this permit to operate in Dubai.
Everything we are doing is towards creating a quality framework within which education providers can operate and benefit so that parents and students can be confident they are getting the best service possible,” said Mohammed Darwish, head of KHDA’s Regulation and Compliance Commission. Until now education institutions in Dubai received an annual licence from either the KHDA or from the DED.
From this year a commercial licence will be granted if the KHDA decides to issue or renew the permit of an establishment. Eligibility for a permit is based on inspections introduced in schools by the authority and the approval of the Universities Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB) for higher education institutions.
The permit will display the agreed rates of fees and grades or programmes the institution is permitted to offer. For schools the inspection category will also be stated. Permit holders will have to display the permit for students, parents, teachers and visitors.
–Agencies