Far Eastern Private School branch Sharjah - Al ShahbaPrincipal & Leadership Team

Far Eastern Private School branch Sharjah - Al Shahba is led by OIC Principal Mary Jane P. Onato, supported by OIC Principal Marlon Rita and Vice Principal Rubylyn Casalme. The use of "Officer in Charge" designations across two principal roles is a notable structural signal: it suggests the school is operating without a permanently appointed head, which introduces an element of leadership uncertainty that parents should weigh carefully. Chair of the Board of Governors Maria Sales Al Ansari provides governance oversight, and the school is owned and operated by Maria and Ahmed Mohamed Al Ansari, giving it a family-ownership character distinct from larger operator groups.

The SPEA School Performance Review conducted in March 2024 rated all aspects of leadership and management as Acceptable — the minimum passing threshold on the UAE's six-point inspection scale. This is consistent with the school's overall Acceptable rating, held across both the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 inspection cycles, indicating stability of performance but also a lack of upward momentum. Among the only two Philippine curriculum schools in Sharjah, both carry an Acceptable rating, so FEPS Al Shahba is not an outlier within its curriculum peer group, but it sits well below the standards achieved by higher-performing schools in the city.

Inspectors identified a specific structural weakness in the leadership layer: the roles of middle leaders are not clearly defined, and they are not fully involved in school evaluation or improvement planning. This is a meaningful gap — effective middle leadership is typically the engine of curriculum development and classroom quality improvement. On the positive side, the principal is described as respected by all in the school community, and the inspection noted a genuine commitment among senior leaders and teachers to the UAE National Agenda, evidenced by 100% enrolment in external benchmarking tests including PASS, CAT4, and ASSET.

One of the school's most compelling staff metrics is its teacher turnover rate of just 1.3% — explicitly cited as a key strength in the inspection report. This is an exceptionally low figure and points to a stable, settled teaching workforce, which benefits students through continuity of relationships and accumulated institutional knowledge. The school employs 54 teachers and 7 teaching assistants serving 1,250 students, producing a student-to-teacher ratio of 1:23. This is notably higher than the Sharjah-wide average of 1:13.6 across all private schools, meaning classes at FEPS Al Shahba are considerably larger on average — a factor that can affect the individual attention each student receives. [MISSING: staff qualification percentages — no data on proportion holding Bachelor's, Master's or higher degrees]

Parent and community engagement is structured through PTA Meetings and a Local Advisory Board with Parents, and the inspection noted that relationships of mutual respect among parents, teachers and students are a recognised strength of the school. The school's caring environment and student well-being are also highlighted positively. However, the inspection is clear that the school's capacity to analyse assessment data and translate it into improved outcomes remains underdeveloped — a leadership challenge that the current team will need to address to move the school beyond its Acceptable plateau.