Introduction
Abu Dhabi is a country in the United Arab Emirates that has seen immense progress in its education system in the past 20 years. With a countless number of schools offering excellent education, outstanding facilities, and varied curriculum, it can be tough knowing where to start in the pursuit of a school that is precise for your child. However, with very little information and groundwork, it doesn’t essentially have to be a worrying experience. Having certain pointers in mind while looking at schools will help you ease into the process and eventually find the best-fitting school for your child.
Important criteria to help you choose an Abu Dhabi School
If you take into consideration the following criteria, it will be easier for you to take a well-versed decision for your child:
Rankings
The United Arab Emirates has the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and The Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) in place to keep the quality of education in check. KHDA reviews schools across Dubai and ranks them based on the quality of education that that school provides. The rankings of each school are readily available on the internet. It gives parents an overall view of the kind of education that the school they like provides.
Curriculum
With so many options in curriculums that schools in Abu Dhabi have to offer, it’s a task to understand the school curriculum that is best suited to your child. CBSE, ICSE, UK curriculum, IB British curricula, US curricula, Montessori, etc. are some of the most accepted curriculums. At this stage, parents have to talk to their children and understand their interests to make the final decision regarding the curriculum of choice. No single curriculum is accurately the best, nor is any one preferred over others but the decision is crucial for children.
Location
It might not seem like it, but the location of a school is an important criterion to keep in mind. Finding a good school in your locality is important as it would mean that your child need not spend long hours commuting to the school. A school in the vicinity helps the child feel more comfortable. Some schools even have transport facilities for their students. In such a case, it is convenient for both the parents and their children to look at schools nearby.
Facilities
The facilities a school provides need to be modern. There is no denying that higher secondary schools across Abu Dhabi have some of the best facilities for its students but, making sure that the facilities in the school are large enough to host competitions, sports, and cultural programs. The school should also have well-equipped math labs, chemistry and physics labs, playgrounds for sports, auditoriums for cultural events, and more. This just ensures that our child gets all the services s/he needs to learn and grow.
Teaching Standards
The standard of teaching is a criterion that parents often tend to forget to check. With an eligible teaching faculty, a school can amplify its teaching methods. It’s because of the teaching and non-teaching faculty that the standard of education in a school is maintained. Also making sure that your child’s reports are shared with you by their teacher is important. Seeing that the teachers can communicate to you and give you an insight into the progress of your child. If teachers from a particular school can do that, it’s another box checked out for you.
Holistic Development of the Child
Alongside the facilities and teaching standards, the overall development of a child is equally important. Providing children with opportunities that allow them to develop under pressurized circumstances is crucial. Ensuring the development of a child beyond the classroom, via extracurricular and cultural activities is an important aspect of a school’s program. The school you choose for your child should encourage critical thinking, sportsmanship, develop self-confidence and self-esteem and help the child become a citizen of the 21st century.
Schooling Cost
It is an important criterion that parents need to pay attention to. If a school is out of your budget, then there is no point in looking further into the details of the school. Schools in Abu Dhabi have a varied range of fees that enables parents to choose the perfect school from a large number of options. Besides the tuition fees of a school, the cost of transport, extracurricular activities, and other miscellaneous fees should also be considered in one’s budget.
Merit
Having a look at a school’s past records helps you make a decision based on the performance of the school. Schools have these records on their official websites. Schools like Global Indian International School, are some schools with all the credibility duly posted and updated on its websites. The awards won, the past records and other necessary information is all available for parents to see. It is easily accessible to parents to look further into the credibility of the school. Schools with high scores and consistent progress reports are schools that pay attention to the needs of your child. These are the schools that you should look out for.
Campus
One final thing to do before you pick out a school is to ensure that a school you like, not only promises the best for your child but also delivers it. Booking a tour of the campus helps you understand the environment of the school first-hand. Schools like GIIS have tours of the campus that can be booked on their website. Some things you as a parent should look out for are; Is the school environment the best suited for your child? Are the facilities mentioned on the website accurate? Does the school have a well-equipped Library, physics lab, chemistry lab, math lab? Are the teachers in the school willing to guide students whenever necessary? A tour only helps you ensure all the facilities like, the library, the playgrounds, labs, classrooms etc… and if the general environment of the school is the right one for your child or not.
Conclusion
Finally, after ticking all the above boxes, it is most important that your child likes the school that you choose for him. The opinion of your child, in this matter, is important, as he is the one taking the benefits of the facilities of the school to learn and grow. Involving your child in the process of finding a school, will give you an insight into what he needs and wants from a school. Hope you found the above mentioned criteria helpful.
