Why Dubai’s teachers matter more than ever
A new school year usually puts the focus on children: new classrooms, new routines, new teachers and, for many families, a fairly frantic return to early mornings.
But behind every child settling into school is an educator doing far more than delivering a lesson.
That was the message from Aisha Miran, Director General of Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), as more than 8,000 educators from private schools, early childhood centres and higher education institutions joined a series of virtual town halls ahead of the 2026–27 academic year.
Miran described teachers not simply as educators, but as mentors, caregivers, role models and partners to parents. They’re a reminder of just how much influence they can have on a child’s confidence and development.
“Behind every young person who discovers a talent, finds their confidence, or begins to believe that something greater is possible, there is often an educator who saw that potential first,” Miran said.
It is a point many parents will recognise. The teacher who notices a child struggling before anyone else does. The one who encourages a quiet pupil to speak up. Or the teacher whose belief in a child stays with them long after they have left the classroom.
So where does KHDA fit in?
As Dubai’s education regulator, KHDA oversees the growth and quality of private education in the emirate. But its role is also increasingly about creating ways for educators themselves to contribute to how education develops.
This academic year will see the launch of the Dubai Educators Council, a 15-member group designed to give teachers and other educators a direct platform to share their experiences and contribute to education policies and programmes.
That matters because, as Miran acknowledged, strategies only go so far.
“We have ambitious aspirations for education in Dubai, but strategies and policies alone cannot achieve them; educators bring those ambitions to life every day.”
Teacher numbers across Dubai’s private education sector have grown by 17.5% over the past three academic years, according to KHDA, making the question of how the city attracts, supports and retains good educators increasingly important.
Miran also emphasised that teachers should feel supported in their own professional growth, while maintaining high standards around professionalism, safeguarding and student wellbeing.
For parents, the takeaway is fairly simple: good schools rely on good teachers, and good teachers need more than policies and targets around them. They need support, trust and a genuine voice in the system they work in.
As Miran put it, educators are “partners in shaping the future of education.”
