Taiba School, a villa school in Al Ain, has proactively responded to Abu Dhabi Education Council’s (ADEC) call for all schools to operate in purpose-built facilities and bid to operate in a purpose-built school facility put on offer by ADEC last May 2010. Several schools have also bided for the opportunity and after studying all the proposals it was Taiba School that has been chosen as the best bid to use the facility.
Approximately 200 students from Taiba School will be transferred to Al Jimi School, an empty government school facility, at the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year. ADEC has provided this government school facility on a temporary basis to support the school as they begin construction on their own purpose-built facility to begin operation within three years. This represents a positive step forward in ADEC’s objective to provide access to high quality education for all students.
This school transfer is part of a larger initiative by ADEC to provide alternative solutions for closed villa schools students to ensure that they have access to positive, safe, and appropriate learning facilities. Students from six villa schools that were closed in June 2009 for exhibiting severe health and safety violations were provided with low-fee replacement school alternatives for the start of this academic year. Villa school operators throughout the Emirate are now making plans to transfer to purpose-built facilities to abide by the health and safety and quality assurance standards set by the authorities, and to adhere to legal building code regulations.
Mouza Khalfan, the owner of Taiba School, said: “We pledge to do our part, with the support of ADEC, to promote their vision for education in the Emirate by setting high quality standards, and graduating students with strong values, cultural awareness, and a high level of academic achievement.”
Taiba has also contracted education consultants SSAT to drive rapid school improvement. SSAT has been a valued partner in ADEC’s public-private partnership program. The company was selected for their ability to draw on a rich resource of experienced, supportive and enthusiastic school leaders who work within SSAT’s existing network of schools. SSAT’s “by schools, for schools” ethos is characterized by the practice of sharing pragmatic and transferable strategies and solutions amongst practicing educators in order to support achievable innovation, peer-to-peer motivation, challenge and inspiration.
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