Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA)

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is Dubai’s education regulator responsible for the growth, quality and improvement of private education across the emirate. Below is a concise, well-structured summary you can use for an “About KHDA” section on a website, brochure or internal document.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) oversees private education in Dubai, ensuring high-quality learning from early childhood through higher education. KHDA supports students, parents, educators, and education providers and drives innovation, accountability and continuous improvement across the sector.

Purpose and role

• Regulator and quality assurer for Dubai’s private education sector.
• Sets standards and policy for schools, early childhood centres, training providers and higher education institutions.
• Licenses and audits private education providers to maintain and raise educational quality.
• Provides guidance, tools and services for students, families, educators and investors.

Key functions

• Inspection and rating of schools and early childhood centres to benchmark and improve performance.
• Policy development (curriculum requirements, national subject guidelines, language provision policies).
• Student-focused services (student portal, certificate attestation, parent–school contracts, scholarship and recognition programmes).
• Workforce and leadership initiatives (guidance on principal appointments, incentives such as Golden Visa eligibility for outstanding educators).
• Data, research and strategic planning (reports on higher education growth, jobs of the future, student outcomes).
• Licensing and approvals for new institutions, program validations and advertisement approvals.