Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School, Abu Dhabi

• SKBZAPS location
• Years offered
• SKBZAPS curriculum
• ADEK rating
• How to apply?
• Fee structure
• SKBZAPS scholarships
• PTA and contact information

Established in August 1975, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School (SKBZAPS) is one of the few Pakistani Schools in Abu Dhabi. It is a co-curricular school where girls and boys study together until Grade 3 and separate afterwards. His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the first Ambassador of Pakistan in UAE and Secretary-General of Pakistan Cultural Centre laid the school’s foundation. As the name suggests, it follows the National Curriculum of Pakistan, i.e. Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE).

Currently, the school has over 2000 boys and girls, predominantly Pakistanis. A small number of Afghani and Sri Lankan students are also part of SKBZAPS. Two per cent of the total student force requires Special Educational Needs (SEN). The teaching staff of 112 full-time teachers and 14 teaching assistants teach them. This makes the student to teacher ratio of 1:19, which is on a higher side.

Read this guide by Bayut to learn more about Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School is located in Hadbat Al Zaafran. Hadbat Al Zaafran is a mix-used community located at the centre of Abu Dhabi. Here, home seekers can find a variety of residential options include villas and apartments for rent. The nearby residential communities from the school are:

• Al Mushrif
• Al Nahyan
• Al Manhal

Al Mushrif is the nearest residential community from Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School. It is an outstanding residential community in Abu Dhabi located on a prime location between Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street and Sheikh Rashid Bin Sayeed Street. In terms of residential properties, both apartments and villas are available.

• Apartments for rent near SKBZAPS

The campus of SKBZAPS is located on a spacious plot with a wide range of facilities. The school has renovated its campus to modify the already existing facilities and add new facilities to the campus. The exterior of the school building reflects the traditional Arabic architecture. The school has added a new reception with a waiting area to facilitate parents for general information.

The school has also revamped its conference room used for meetings and planning. Classrooms at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School are bright and spacious. They are equipped with learning resources and suitable furniture. The school building is split into multiple sections with age-appropriate and curriculum-based facilities, such as computer labs, science labs and libraries. The science labs are equipped with apparatus necessary to conduct chemistry, biology and physics experiments.

The school also has a canteen where students can buy snacks or lunch items. The school incorporated new sports facilities by renovating its campus. For cricket fans, SKBZAPS has a cricket net facility. An outdoor basketball court, an indoor gymnasium and mini gymnasium can be used for multiple indoor games, such as badminton and table tennis. Other sports facilities at the campus include a squash court and shaded outdoor playground.

SKBZAPS is located on Sultan Bin Zayed the First Street in Hadbat Al Zaafran, Abu Dhabi. People in nearby communities can access the school via Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street and Shakhbout Bin Sultan Street.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School has a rich history of delivering standard education to students for over 45 years. Funds were provided by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to open an educational institute for Pakistani expatriates in the capital city. As per the inspection of Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, the school meets the educational benchmarks of the UAE.

It follows the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) curriculum. It is a Pakistani state curriculum of Islamabad that is recognised throughout the world. Students completing their education from this school can either return to Pakistan or apply for international colleges and universities for higher studies. To ensure equivalency, the school also follows the guidelines of the Ministry of Education (MOE) curriculum.

Another attractive feature of this school is its modest tuition fee. It is an affordable school delivering standard quality education at nominal tuition charges. The annual tuition charged by the school ranges from AED 3,680 to AED 6,240. Thus, parents can ensure their child receives quality education without a strain in their pockets.The school focuses on developing well-rounded abilities by offering an extensive curricular programme. Students take part in many activities ranging from national and international day celebrations to sports activities. The revamped school facilities further support the provision of enrichment activities.

Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge requires schools to follow stringent COVID-19 protocols. The step is taken to ensure a safe learning environment for students. ADEK allows the school to be flexible at the start of the academic year. The school can either follow the complete distance learning programme, complete face-to-face learning and hybrid learning models. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan is using a hybrid approach. Students in kindergarten to grade 5 have to physically attend the school. Whereas, students in Grade 6 and above learn via distance-learning plan.

The following protocols are adopted by SKBZAPS:

• Students and staff must practice social distancing on campus at all times. A minimum distance of 1.5 metres must be maintained throughout the campus.
• The school must sterilise the building and its facilities, such as classrooms, labs, furniture and frequently contact surfaces regularly.
• Students above six years old and faculty must wear a mask at all times. Students below six years old are exempted from wearing masks.
• The security team at staff must check the temperature of students and staff entering the premises. No one with the temperature above 37.5-degree centigrade is allowed to enter. Only authorised personnel can enter the school during school hours.
• Teachers and students above 12 years must produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test result before attending the school.
• Students or their family members must not have a travelling history for at least 14 days before returning to school. In case of a travelling history, students need to comply with the regulations laid by the Government of Abu Dhabi.
• The school must hire a trained health professional to assist management in running school operations smoothly under new circumstances.
• Schools must provide distance-learning programmes to those unable to attend the school physically.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School (SKBZAPS) offers education to students aged 3 to 18 years old. The educational system at this school is as follows:

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School offers a broad and balanced educational programme that prepares students for the modern-day world. It follows the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) of Islamabad, Pakistan. The curriculum encourages students to be independent learners. The learning activities are designed in a way to ensure collaboration, cooperation, responsibility and creativity. The specifics for each phase of education at this school are:

Kindergarten Curriculum

The educational programme for the kindergarten section is based on the Pakistan National Early childhood Education. The programme for early childhood education has students aged 4 to 5 years old. The curriculum supports collaborative learning, i.e. students do not compete against each other. The kindergarten educational programme focuses on six areas of learning:

• Reasoning and Numeracy
• Communication. Language and Literacy
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World
• Problem Solving
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development

All areas of learning are interconnected to ensure a cross-curricular approach to learning. Additionally, the school split the KG curriculum into ten monthly themes. This step is taken to ensure that learning is fun for students.

Junior Section Curriculum

In the junior section, the school introduces students to formal teaching methods based on the National Curriculum of Pakistan. SKBZAPS ensures students transform smoothly from fun-based learning in the kindergarten stage into formal education by introducing a well-balanced curriculum. Students have opportunities to take part in games, extra-curricular and social development activities.

The core subject taught to students in the junior section are:

• Urdu
• English
• Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Social Studies (Pakistan)
• Islamic Studies
• Arabic

Most subjects are taught by class teachers whereas Urdu, Arabic, Science and Computer Studies are taught by specialists.

Senior School Curriculum

SKBZAPS continues to adopt the National Curriculum of Pakistan in the senior school stage. The school focuses more on specialised lessons to ensure students are ready for board-level education. The subjects taught to students in Grade 4 to Grade 8 are:

• Urdu
• Maths
• English
• Computer Science
• Social Studies of Pakistan
• Islamic Studies
• UAE Studies
• Arabic

Board Stage Curriculum

Grade 9 to Grade 12 at SKBZAPS are part of the board section. In this stage, the school follows the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE). As per the FBISE Curriculum, students appear for SSC examinations in Grade 9 and Grade 10 and HSSC examinations in Grade 11 and Grade 12.

Students appearing for SSC examinations have to study at least five core subjects and three MOE subjects. They can further choose three optional group subjects. The core subjects are:

• Urdu (Compulsory)
• English (Compulsory)
• Pakistan Studies
• Mathematics
• Islamic Studies (Compulsory)

The MOE Subjects are as follows:

• Islamic Studies
• Arabic
• UAE Studies (Grade 9 only)

The optional Subjects available to students are:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• General Science
• Computer Science
• Civics
• Islamic Studies (Elective)
• Food and Nutrition
• Clothing and Textile
• Ethics

Please note that Food and Nutrition and Clothing and Textile are available for girls only. Also, Ethics is available for non-Muslims.

Students in the HSSC stage need to study four compulsory and two MOE subjects with optional subjects that define their career path. The options available to students in Grade 11 and Grade 12 are:

• Pre-Engineering
• Pre-Medical
• General Science
• Humanities
• Commerce

The core subjects are as follows:

• English (Compulsory)
• Urdu (Compulsory)
• Islamic Studies (compulsory)
• Pakistan Studies

For more information, view the curriculum of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School continued to educate students despite the COVID-19 regulations through its meticulously planned Distance-Learning programme (DLP). The school uses the available technology resources to ensure a workable plan for students and teachers. SKBZAPS understands that the DLP is not a substitute for face-to-face on-site learning. Thus, the school uses user-friendly comprehensive techniques to replicate the learning experience as best as possible. For more information, check out the DLP of SKBZAPS.

Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) is a governmental body to regulate the educational sector of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra. It was founded in 2005 by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to improve the education of this emirate. Through its Irtiqaa programme, ADEK reviews the performance of schools every two years and issues a detailed report. The following six performance standards are used to gauge the performance of schools:

• Students’ Achievement
• Students’ personal and social development and their innovation skills
• Teaching and Assessment
• Curriculum
• Leadership and Management
• Protection, Care, Guidance and Support of Students

ADEK uses a six-point rating scale that ranges from outstanding (best) to very weak (worst) rating. The brief explanation of ADEK’s rating scale is as follows:

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School was last inspected by ADEK for the academic year 2018-2019. In this inspection report, ADEK rated the performance of the school as acceptable. It is the minimum level of quality required by schools in UAE. Ratings for each performance standard are as follows:

• Students’ Achievement – Acceptable
• Students’ Personal and Social Development and Innovation Skills – Acceptable
• Teaching and Assessment – Acceptable
• Curriculum – Acceptable
• The Protection, Care, Guidance and Support of Students – Acceptable
• Leadership and Management – Acceptable

The strengths of SKBZAPS observed by ADEK are:

• Students’ achievement in Arabic as a second language
• Students’ achievement in mathematics and English in the kindergarten stage
• Improved use of assessments by teachers
• Students’ overall behaviour and positive relationships
• Curricular choices for students

Furthermore, ADEK recommended the following to improve the school’s performance:

• The school further needs to raise achievements in all subjects. For this, the school needs to ensure learning activities match the needs of different groups of students and share good practices within the school. SKBZAPS can also raise the achievement by introducing challenging and interesting activities, develop teachers’ skills for use of questioning and raise teachers’ expectation of students.
• Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School also needs to work on improving students’ attendance and punctuality. They can improve attendance by reviewing existing policies, using rewards or other creative ideas to encourage punctuality and work closely with parents.
• The school also needs to provide opportunities for critical thinking, innovation and problem solving for students. For this, the school should make better use of modern technology, develop research skills of students, improve teachers’ questioning skills and create opportunities within lessons.
• SKBZAPS also needs to work on self-evaluation skills by ensuring that teachers have a sound understanding of ADEK benchmarks and UAE School Inspection Framework. They can also develop skills of middle leadership to monitor teaching, learning and achievements.

The academic year of this school starts in April and ends in March. There are three terms in an academic year. Students expect a 2-month summer break in July and August and three-week winter break in December.

The admission process at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School (SKBZAPS) is based on four easy steps:

Step 1 – Pre-Registration

Those looking to enrol their kids at SKBZAPS need to register their child online by submitting the pre-registration form. The admission team at the school will help you in filling out the form correctly. Please fill the form with correct information. The school reserves the right to cancel admission on false information.

This is based on the age of the students on 31st July (for schools beginning in April). Source: SKBZAPS

* This is to cater to students transferring from systems that admit students of a younger age)

Step 2 – Placement Test

Once the pre-registration form is submitted, the school will contact parents to invite the candidate for the placement test. The placement test gauges students’ skills based on the guidelines set by ADEK. The school will inform parents regarding the status of admission in a few working days.

Students have to attain a minimum of 35% masks in Urdu, English and Mathematics to be considered for admission in Grade 1 to Grade 8 and Grade 9 (Humanities). For admission in Grade 9 (science group), a minimum of 50% marks is required in English, Mathematics and Urdu.

Step 3 – Interview

After clearing the placement test, an interview session will be conducted. The decision to enrol your child at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School will be judged based on the entrance test and interview session.

Step 4 – Submission of Documents

Once admission is granted, parents need to submit the documents and registration fee to secure a seat for their child.

The documents required for this process are:

• Two copies of birth certificate (attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 
• Two copies of students’, father’s and mother’s passport with a valid UAE visa
• Copies of Emirates ID card of the candidate, mother and father (bring original at the time of eSIS)
• Original transfer certificate (attested)
• Last year’s report card (attested)
• Deceleration certificate (if admission is not processed with any board)
• Registration card (for those registered with FBISE)
• Migration certificate (Grade 9 to Grade 12)
• Vaccination form
• Health insurance card
• Four passport size photographs (for admission in KG1 to Grade 10)
• Eight passport size photographs (for admission in Grade 11 and above)

The birth certificate must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UAE Embassy in the home country if applying from outside the UAE.

If applying from anywhere in the UAE except Abu Dhabi, the transfer certificate must be attested by the Abu Dhabi Education Council and respective Educational Zone Office. If applying from outside the UAE, the transfer certificate must be attested by the District Education Office, Inter-board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (home country) and UAE Embassy (home country) or Ministry of Foreign Affairs in UAE. For more information, check out the essential documents for admission at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School.

View the admission process of SKBZAPS for more information.

The fee structure of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School is as follows:

For more information, check out the fee policy of SKBZAPS.

The school does not have a scholarship programme for students. The modest tuition fee charged by the school makes up for the lack of scholarship programmes.

The school has a canteen where students can buy a range of hot and cold food items. All the food products available at the canteen are made from fresh raw materials. These items are available at affordable prices.

Currently, the school canteen is closed because of COVID-19 pandemic.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School is a day-only school. It does not offer any boarding facility for students. Those living far from the school can relocate to nearby areas mentioned in the residential communities near Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School at the beginning of the guide.

The school does not arrange holiday camps for children.

The school has a wide range of sports facilities to promote a healthy and active lifestyle among students. The sports facilities at the campus are:

Some sports facilities might be closed because of COVID-19 protocols.

The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities to support the all-round development of students. These activities are used to balance out the curriculum and provide a more holistic learning experience. The activities offered to students range from the celebration of national and international days to sports activities. All these activities are not included in the annual tuition fee and are charged separately.

Currently, the school has suspended most extra-curricular activities to comply with the COVID-19 regulations.

The only after-school care offered to students is in the form of extracurricular activities.

These activities are currently unavailable because of COVID-19 pandemic.

Communication between teachers and parents is essential for the success of the school. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School offers several communication channels to facilitate effective communication between parents and teachers.

The school arranges parent-teacher meetings throughout the year. Meetings are arranged to help teachers and parents discuss the progress made by students. The official school website is another source of information for parents and the wider community. Here, visitors can find information on curriculum, admission and fee policy. The school also has an active social media presence on different platforms where they regularly share new developments and updates with parents.

Another source of communication at this school is the WhatsApp groups. The school WhatsApp groups have teachers and parents of students studying in the same classroom.

• Address: Sultan Bin Zayed the First Street, Hadbat Al Zaafran, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Telephone Numbers

• For general information: +971 2 4481758

Email Addresses

• Kindergarten Section: concerns.kg@gmail.com
• Junior Section: concerns.jnrsec@gmail.com
• Senior Section (Girls): concerns.ssg@gmail.com
• Senior Section (Boys): concerns.ssb@gmail.com
• Board Section (Girls): concerns.bsg@gmail.com
• Board Section (Boys): concerns.bsb@gmail.com

Official Website and Social Media

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

Note that the cover image belongs to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School