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KHDA - Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai

The KHDA in Dubai (acronym meaning Knowledge and Human Development Authority) is the educational regulatory authority for Dubai schools, colleges, and universities. From 2009, the DISB, a subsidiary division of the KHDA, started issuing school ratings.

The KHDA is a Dubai government authority that oversees education in the emirate of Dubai (including Hatta), both private and public, having taken over the role from the Dubai Education Council (DEC) in 2007. Other emirates have their own education authorities, or come under the authority of the federal UAE Ministry of Education (MOE). The KHDA remit is to develop both the education and human resource sectors in Dubai. Licensing of all educational institutes in Dubai (including those located in Free Zones in Dubai) is governed by the KHDA.

• KHDA chairman and director general is Dr Abdullah (Abdulla) Al Karam.
• KHDA was founded in March 2007.
• Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) was founded in December 2007. Head of the DSIB is Jameela Salem Musabih Humaid Al Muhairi.
• Dubai Education Council (DEC) was established in July 2005 (or 2003 according to some reports).

KHDA Dubai school fee increases

• Private school fees in Dubai - information moved to new page.

KHDA Regulation and Compliance Commission (RCC)

• Head of the KHDA RCC is Mohammed Darwish.
• The RCC issues Educational Service Permits for institutes in Dubai.
• Contact email rcc@khda.gov.ae.

KHDA Education Service Permits

• KHDA will issue Education Service Permits to all schools (and nurseries?), universities and colleges, and training institutes in Dubai (press release 17 August 2009).
• The permits will be required by all institutes wanting to operate in Dubai.
• Permits will be issued by the Regulation and Compliance Commission (RCC) at the KHDA.
• Permit should show fees schedule, permitted grades and/or programs, inspection category for schools, UQAIB approval for colleges and universities.
• Agreement signed between KHDA and Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) in May 2009. The DED issues commercial licences for educational establishments, and will now require an Education Service Permit before they do so (or renew one).
• Presumably the Dubai Education Service Permit requirement also applies in Dubai free trade zones (but that was not explicitly stated in the press release).
• From July 2010, KHDA customers can renew, cancel, amend, or apply for new education permits via the newly launched e-services facility on the KHDA website (18 July 2010 press release). This includes both new and existing schools, training institutes, and early learning centres in Dubai.
• There appears to be some overlap for tertiary level institutes in Dubai. Universities and colleges in Dubai offering degree level programs should have those programs accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR).

Difference between Higher Education Institutes and Training Institutes in Dubai

• Higher Education Institutes are universities and colleges that offer degree level programs such as Bachelor's Master's, and Doctorates. They might also offer training programs and/or Foundation Level entry programs before starting a degree course.
• Usually these institutes offer their own degrees but also sometimes in collaboration with an overseas university.
• Training Institutes offer short-term and longer-term courses in the areas of professional development, technical and work skills enhancement, and other vocational related courses. These courses generally do not lead to any sort of degree.
• Many training institutes in Dubai (and the UAE) offer distance learning degree level programs from international and foreign universities and colleges. These may well be valid courses, and could be recognised as such by employers and government authorities, but there are some risks associated with enrolling in such courses.
• Some training institutes in Dubai Free Zones might be licensed by the KHDA to offer Higher Education degrees.

Bogus or scam training institutes in Dubai

• Training Institutes in Dubai are not authorised to offer degree level courses unless they are in one of the education related free zones in Dubai (Dubai Knowledge Village or Dubai Academic City as of 2014).
• A prospective student can ask to see the KHDA Educational Services Permit for an institute, college, or university, which will list all permitted activities and programs.
• Students should not register for any courses offered that are not listed on the permit. Or, if they do, at least be aware of the risks associated with enrolling in such a course, for example: mid-course cancellation by institute with no fee refunds or transfer assistance, course offering unauthorised by parent institute, certificates not issued, permission to sit exams withheld, qualifications not recognised by education authorities, not recognised by employers, not recognised as prerequisites for further study, etc.
• For any questions, or to query the validity of an institute and/or course, or to report an institute not following the rules, contact the KHDA. Email rcc@khda.gov.ae.

[Update needed] KHDA school ratings and inspections

KHDA school ratings - page with more detailed information.

KHDA reports 2012 released for 2011-2012 on 27 February 2011 for Indian and Pakistan schools, and 08 May 2012 for other schools.

From October to December 2008, the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB), the inspections division of the KHDA, conducted the first Dubai school inspections. It is expected that the DISB will conduct regular inspections in future (annually?). The DISB inspections give each school one of 4 ratings: outstanding, good, acceptable or unsatisfactory. Schools can increase their fees by varying amounts depending on the rating (a good rating means a higher fees increase). The results of the first inspections were released on 02 April 2009, and further results were released on 16 May 2009. A summary is (add your comments to the KHDA school inspection topic):

Date and number of schools rated	unsatisfactory	acceptable	good	outstanding	total
Rating 10 May 2010	21	95	66	5	187
Rating 17 February 2010²	5	11	7	0	23
Rating 16 May 2009¹	14	63	41	0	118
Rating 02 April 2009	6	34	25	4	69

1. Mostly western and Arabic curriculum schools. Indian, Iranian, and Pakistani schools not included.
2. Indian (20) and Pakistani (3) curriculum schools only.

KHDA International Student Assessments

The Program for International Student Assessments (PISA) is an OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) program held every 3 years that ranks students from different countries based on reading and mathematics skills. About 6500 students from 130 schools in Dubai will participate for the first time from 26 April to 14 May 2009, arranged by the KHDA. In a geographical slip-up, the KHDA issued a press release on 14 April 2009 announcing that Dubai, rather than the UAE, was one of the participating countries. Oops.

[Update] KHDA IB partnership

• 27 Sep 2012 (press release) - KHDA and the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) have signed a partnership agreement. IB representatives will join the DSIB inspectors on their inspection trips to Dubai schools following IB curriculums to check on the inspections. The partnership also plans to increase the number of IB schools in Dubai, and research how the IB program impacts on Emirati students getting involved in community activities.

KHDA Twitter

• Occasionally the KHDA Twitter account has something different than the usual announcements and news feed, usually a bit of humour and wit related to fake posts about school closures due to weather or other events. A couple of recent posts ...
  • 2019-03-19 (responding to a fake tweet about school closure in Dubai due to rain): "Honestly you guys - when did you ever know our rain tweets to be so boring? ?? Now go to sleep - you’ve got school tomorrow. ??" The KT did carry a report that the MOE said some schools in other emirates would close due to rain. The fake tweeter used that news to confuse schools, students, and parents in Dubai.
  • 2019-02-05 (responding to a fake tweet about school closure on 05 Feb 2019): "While we appreciate the Photoshop skills of some our students (though not their grammar, obvs), we'd like to confirm that schools are open on Wednesday & Thursday." School closure announcement was related to the Pope's UAE visit, presumably so school buses could be used to transport Dubai residents to the mass held in Abu Dhabi.
• Join the fans of funniness at twitter.com/khda (same as twitter.com/KHDA).

KHDA acronyms and meanings

• KHDA in Dubai, UAE: Knowledge and Human Development Authority (not "Agency").
• KHDA in Denmark: website www.khda.dk is for KH din Assurandør ApS.
• KHDA in India: Khasi Hills Democratic Alliance.
• KHDA in USA: Kentucky Health Departments Association (website www.khda-ky.org).

Headings and updates needed

• KHDA attestation of education certificates awarded by schools, universities, and other institutes in Dubai (if licensed by the KHDA). Apply through the awarding institute, not directly to the KHDA. Fees about AED 200-300? Add postage or delivery costs if being sent to another country. Processing time 2-4 weeks? Online system (for schools) implemented in 2013?
  • Also see UAE Ministry of Education attestation.
  • For unlicensed institutes in Dubai (or UAE), attestation process is usually something like: attestation from home country of institute, then Ministry of Foreign Affairs in home country, then UAE consulate or embassy in home country, then Ministry of Foreign Affairs in UAE.
• KHDA Parent-School contract. Signed between schools and parents for students at private schools in Dubai. Students information is recorded with the KHDA but registration not complete until schools and parents sign the contract (online from the KHDA website). The contract terms and conditions are used in the case of any dispute brought to the attention of the KHDA.
• KHDA Dubai school calendar. See also Dubai school calendar dates 2018.
• KHDA jobs and careers. See the KHDA careers page on the KHDA website, or search for KHDA vacancies listed on www.dubaicareers.ae (an official Dubai Government online job vacancy portal).
• KHDA news. Official news page on KHDA website updated occasionally (one or two articles per month). KHDA Twitter feed has more news (not just from KHDA), but also more noise.

KHDA contact numbers and timings

• Location: Block 8, Dubai Academic City.
• Postal Address: PO Box 500008, Dubai, UAE.
• Contact details: toll-free (in UAE) 800 KHDA (800-5432), landline tel +971-4-3640000, fax +971-4-3640001, email info@khda.gov.ae. Reference (Mar 2019 checked): www.khda.gov.ae/en/contact-us.
  • Some sources give the KHDA contact number as 04-364 0001, which is the fax number, not the phone number.
• Office hours: Sun-Wed 0730-1630, Thu 0730-1430, Fri-Sat closed.

Last update Friday 22-Mar-2019

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