KHDA And DED Join Hands To Toughen Up Licensing For Education Providers

Two entities of Dubai Government have pledged to work together to close licensing loopholes aimed at raising the standard of education in Dubai.

The Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) will work hand-in-hand to exchange information and inspect institutions.

The aim is to ensure that every education provider – including early learning centres, schools, universities and training institutions – meets the required standard to hold both a commercial licence and an education permit.

The two arms of the Government have signed a legally binding agreement which covers six areas of their activities. These include a two-way exchange of data relevant to licensing; agreement on initial approval for licence with KHDA or DED sharing any information regarding validity of the service provider; choosing a commercial name; access to DED’s online system; joint on-site inspections and visits sharing each other’s experience; and collection of educational tariffs by DED on behalf of KHDA.

Mohammed Darwish, KHDA’s Chief of Licensing, said: “We are hopeful that most education providers will comply with and adhere to the Government authorities’ guidelines, rules and regulations.”

Mr Darwish added: “We want the message to be clear: Only those providers who produce quality outcomes will be allowed to operate in Dubai.”

Mr Mohammed Shael, CEO, Business Registration and Licensing Division, DED, explained: “The agreement is part of DED’s initiatives to work with different organisations to encourage the growth of business sectors in the Emirate and provide a suitable environment for their development. This agreement is especially important as it pertains to the education sector, which plays a vital role in Dubai’s economy based on knowledge and learning."

There are about 500 education providers in Dubai who will come under the terms of this agreement.

Mr Darwish said: “Providers will only be allowed to do what they are permitted to do. We are also in the process of signing similar agreements with other authorities so that sharing information will lead to an even better regulating process. The compliance team at KHDA will carry out site visits, sometimes without notice, and joint teams will visit those institutions which are deemed to be in violation of our regulations.”

The DED already follows an international framework which defines activities for commercial licensing. KHDA will have the freedom to suggest additions to that framework.

GEMS Seeks Independent Review Into KHDA, As New Modern High Campus Opens Today

GEMS Education announced that they opened the new Dubai Modern High School at Nad Al Sheba today.“GEMS is about education and education is about students. We will never, ever jeopardize the ability of our students to attend classes. Their welfare is paramount,” said Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, Mr Sunny Varkey.He was responding to the decision three days ago by Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) who stated that the new Dubai Modern High School could accept students but without the 45 per cent fee increase that KHDA had earlier agreed to.Mr Varkey stressed that GEMS will be seeking an Independent Review by higher Government authorities into the KHDA. “The policies and decisions made by the KHDA are flawed and inconsistent,” he commented.“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has a clear vision for education and developing human capital and GEMS has, for the last 40 years, supported that vision by investing in education,” Mr Varkey said.Mr Varkey believes that KHDA are now standing in the way of achieving that vision. It is now difficult for private school operators, such as GEMS, to confidently re-invest into education and therefore the economy, given this decision.“It is time to put all the facts on the table in relation to KHDA’s announcement with regards to the new Dubai Modern High School. GEMS believes the decision does not reflect the agreement with GEMS that the KHDA approved last year. The agreement was for GEMS to invest AED 156 million to build a new Modern High campus in Nad Al Sheba and to help recuperate this investment, KHDA had approved a 45 per cent increase in the fees for the first year and a further 31 per cent in the second year of operation. GEMS, due to increased costs, has now invested AED 178 million. GEMS invested in this school based on the approval provided by the KHDA to increase fees.”“KHDA said in a statement last Wednesday to GEMS that “the school is incomplete when compared with the original plans submitted” and that the “ongoing construction activity on the site is evidence that the school is not ready in its entirety as per plan.”GEMS provided background on the process they followed with KHDA:• A master plan was provided to KHDA in September 2007. KHDA are calling this the ‘original plans’. These are conceptual drawings that do not identify actually facilities in detail.• In October, 2007 GEMS submitted a business plan to KHDA.• After six months of reviewing the business plan, which included facilities to accommodate 2,400 students, KHDA approved the plan in May, 2008 and granted the 45 per cent and 31 per cent fee increase over two years.Mr Varkey said, “Let me be clear, the 45 per cent and 31 per cent fee increase approved in May 2008 by KHDA was based solely on the business plan and has nothing to do with the master plan shown to KHDA back in September, 2007.”As per the business plan GEMS has completed a state-of-the-art building that can accommodate 2,400 students. The number of students assumed for the 5 year plan period was 1,655 in Year 1 to 2,314 in Year 5.This is just one of a series of inconsistencies by the KHDA.Another recent example relate to KHDA’s two inspections of the new Dubai Modern campus.At no time in either of KHDA’s two inspections did they mention anything in relation to the school being incomplete as per their statement to GEMS and the press on Wednesday. If there was a problem why did they not highlight this during their inspections?Indeed KHDA, following their first visit, asked that five facilities be completed. These included: the prayer room, the medical clinic and the canteen. Surprisingly KHDA inspectors did not ask to see these facilities during that visit. Had they done so they would have seen that they had already been completed. They confirmed that all the items on the KHDA’s visit report were “sufficiently addressed.”GEMS believe the ‘new’ Dubai Modern High School has the best facilities of any Indian day school in the world and international Research studies prove that the better facilities in areas like sport and the creative arts the higher the academic performance. This new campus is five times bigger than the old campus and the classrooms are almost twice the size.From a health and safety perspective the Dubai Modern High School has received its building completion certificate from TECOM and approval from the civil defence authorities. GEMS is responsible for the health and safety of hundreds of thousand of students every day.Any assertion that KHDA or the plans assumed that the new site would include provision for facilities beyond those projected student numbers of 2,400 is fundamentally flawed.GEMS has not compromised on any of our commitments made to KHDA in our business plan and have only ever had the welfare of our students education in mind.
 

American Students Delegation Reviews RTA Projects

The International Training Institute at the Sultanate of Oman stated that the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is a cause of pride for GCC nationals, and a source of information for researchers & students in various administrative, economic and service fields.The statement was made when the CEO of RTA Corporate Support Services Sector Abdullah Al Madani received a visiting American student delegation currently on a practical training mission at the Omani International Training Institute, as part of a three-month internship in the GCC countries for the students who hail from several American universities.Al Madani welcomed the student delegation and the Institute supervisors promising to provide them with all information sought from various RTA agencies & sectors. “Diffusing the culture and furthering knowledge, particularly for academic purposes, is part and parcel of RTA policy; which seeks to realize its vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All through sharing its successful experiments at the largest possible level.The student delegation and their companions from the Omani Institute attended to a thorough presentation of the achievements & services of the RTA delivered by Training & Development Section at Human Resources & Development Dep’t of the Sector, and were impressed with the economic, administrative and service development witnessed by the RTA. They stated that such a visit contributes to their internship; which includes a comprehensive tour in the GCC countries to review the key economic projects undertaken by GCC non-oil government authorities, under the supervision of the Omani Institute.The delegation, which consisted of nine students pursuing a specialty in global economic studies, pointed out that Dubai Metro was one of the distinguished and successful projects they witnessed, and added much input to their knowledge directly from the source. It also lauded the customer service system adopted by the RTA which they reviewed during their visit to RTA Main Customer Service Center, providing top-class facilities & extensive services to the public from centers spanning all parts of Dubai emirate.At the end of the visit, Marketing & Corporate Communication Dep’t at RTA Corporate Support Services Sector distributed souvenir gift items to the visiting delegation.
 

Dubai Public Prosecution Adopts Dubai eGovernment’s SMS Service

Dubai eGovernment Department has announced that Dubai Public Prosecution has recently adopted its SMS integrated service, which allows clients, including the transacting public, lawyers and prosecutors, to inquire about rulings on cases, times of sessions, resolutions, and the status of proposals and requests drafted by the Public Prosecution. Users can simply send an SMS containing data on the nature of the query, such as the case type, year and serial number, at a nominal cost of 60 fils per text.

The service is part of Dubai eGovernment’s strategy of providing information and online government services by supporting government departments with a range of advanced electronic systems and synergistic services such as ePay, eLearn, and eHost, among others. The SMS feature is among the innovative electronic solutions developed by the Department to improve the quality of electronic services. The new service is currently undergoing its initial phase, which is limited to the Judiciary and Public Prosecution areas, but is expected to expand to include many other government authorities in the near future.

“We continue our quest to provide innovative solutions and high-level services that complement the ongoing transformation of Dubai as a global economic hub. The provision of online service platforms, in a society where speed and efficiency are key elements to achieve success, is an important step to achieve sustainability and support the emirate’s development process,” said Ahmed Bin Humaidan, Director General, Dubai eGovernment Department.

Commenting on this step, Isam Isa Al Humaidan, Dubai’s Attorney General, said: “This move is the beginning of a new phase in the provision of judicial services in view of its role in facilitating legal procedures, reducing the time taken and minimizing general costs, which contribute to strengthening the national economy and promoting social development in Dubai and the UAE in general. We have also adopted this service to support our future plans to upgrade our services to the highest global standards, in line with Dubai’s march towards development and electronic transformation.”

“Through our online portal, www.dxbpp.gov.ae, we facilitate online inquiries on cases, registration applications and many other services that expedite and simplify procedures through the use of the latest technologies, swith the aim of achieving our goal of easing the lives of people and businesses interacting with the government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Thani Abdulla Al Zafeen, CEO, Dubai eGovernment Department said: “It is because Dubai is a regional pioneer in applying eGovernment systems that we are committed to further developing our services and adopting world-class standards to keep pace with the rate of growth and development in the region and throughout the world. The launch of this new service complements the e-transformation process, which we initiated when we began operating in 2001. We certainly will work in the coming period to expand the service to include various other areas.”

Dubai eGovernment’s comprehensive web portal, http://www.dubai.ae, allows citizens, residents, visitors and businesses access to electronic services which include among others payment of municipality fees, visa application for relatives, health card renewal, company registration, and payment of RTA fines.