Dubai: Private schools in Dubai must notify education authorities when a student misses five consecutive days without a valid reason or accumulates unexplained absences equivalent to 10 per cent of the school days in a term, under new safeguarding regulations.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has made the reporting requirements mandatory under its Policy Framework for Safeguarding and Learner Protection, linking school attendance monitoring to the early detection of risks affecting students' safety and wellbeing.
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Schools must report a student when either threshold is reached, regardless of whether the absences are consecutive or spread across the term.
However, KHDA stressed that schools must act immediately if a student's absence raises concerns about their safety, even if the reporting thresholds have not been reached.
The framework requires educational institutions to establish written attendance policies appropriate to students' ages, learning arrangements and the type of education provided.
Institutions must maintain accurate attendance records, investigate repeated or unexplained absences and identify patterns that could indicate a student needs protection or additional support.
Staff are also required to immediately alert the institution's designated safeguarding lead whenever an attendance concern suggests a student may be at risk.
