Dubai KHDA Approval Now Required for Teachers Delivering Islamic Education to Children Aged Four to Six

Who does the KHDA approval rule apply to?

The rules cover private schools, kindergartens and early childhood centres in Dubai that serve children aged four to six. They apply to Muslim Arab and non-Arab children alike, including children of determination, for whom schools must provide suitable accommodations that meet their needs and support their learning.

The headline change is about the teacher. Each person assigned to Islamic education for this age group needs a KHDA appointment notification authorising them to teach it. A teacher can't rely on being approved for another subject, or on a previous approval, to cover this one.

What changes for Arabic teachers?

This is the point Gulf News led with. Arabic language teachers can't simply take on Islamic education classes. They need separate KHDA approval, even if they are well qualified.

Where one teacher handles both subjects, the notification must explicitly approve both Arabic and Islamic education. The FAQs that accompany the guide add two conditions. Giving Islamic education to an Arabic teacher must not undermine their responsibilities for teaching Arabic, and the arrangement must stay within the workload requirements set out in the relevant teaching policy.

For a school with a small early years team, that means checking each timetable against each teacher's notification before the term gets going.

What qualifications and experience must teachers have?

The guide sets Level 3 as the minimum qualification for teachers in early childhood education and Level 6 for teachers working with the same age group in schools. Accepted fields include Islamic education, early childhood education, Arabic language and related areas.

Teachers must also be Muslim and have enough subject knowledge to meet the Ministry of Education curriculum. Schools are responsible for checking that competence through their approved recruitment procedures and interviews.

Experience counts too. Teachers need experience suited to early childhood development and the professional development required to teach and care for young children. They must be qualified in the field, trained in early childhood teaching methods, or work under the supervision of a teacher who holds the right qualification for this stage.

What if a school can't find someone who fits? It must obtain approval from the relevant authority for any alternative arrangement it proposes. In the Gulf News account, that approval is from KHDA.

Which language is used in class?

Language depends on the child's passport. Muslim Arab children registered with passports issued by Arab countries must be taught in Arabic. Non-Arab Muslim children are taught in the language the institution has adopted.

Parents of children registered with non-Arab passports can ask for their child to join the Arabic-language programme, though the school makes the final call.

Schools have flexibility on layout. Arab and non-Arab children can share a classroom or be placed in separate rooms, as long as each group is taught in its designated language. If one teacher teaches both groups at the same time, that teacher needs an excellent command of Arabic and a good command of the school's other language of instruction, so every child can be understood.

What records must schools keep for KHDA visits?

Schools must apply the learning framework and outcomes approved by the Ministry of Education, build them into their official academic plans and prove it. That means teaching plans, learning resources and assessment records, plus evidence showing each child's progress towards the targeted outcomes.

Teaching and assessment methods must suit children's ages and stages of development. Where relevant, the documentation must also show accommodations for children with disabilities and how educational planning is tied to their needs.

At the start of the year, institutions must share their implementation model and how children are split into groups with both KHDA and parents. They must also hold on to:

• examples of regular communication with families
• documents verifying teachers' qualifications and appointment notifications
• educational plans
• assessment methods

These records are the evidence of compliance when KHDA visits, whether it comes alone or alongside the Ministry of Education. In practice, schools are now responsible for more than securing approvals and timetabling the classes. They also have to demonstrate what children actually achieve.

What should parents and schools do next?

Schools should check now that every teacher on the Islamic education timetable for four to six-year-olds holds the right notification, and that anyone covering both Arabic and Islamic education has both subjects named. Parents don't need to take any action, but the start-of-year briefing is the moment to ask how groups and languages have been set up for your child.

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