Four in ten parents in Dubai want 'alternative to traditional schooling' after pandemic


Anam Rizvi
  • English
  • Arabic

Nearly half of parents of privately educated pupils in Dubai are interested in an alternative to traditional education, a new study has found.

Forty-four per cent said they would be keen to explore options other than bricks-and-mortar schools for their children.

Further findings showed 26 per cent said their children learnt better at home using distance learning - though the majority, 57 per cent, said they learnt better back in the classroom.

The findings came as parents weigh up the high cost of private education, given the financial squeeze on many households during the pandemic. Schools and universities are also under pressure to look at how well they are preparing young people for a rapidly changing job market.

The results were detailed in a survey by the government-run Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which regulates private schools in Dubai.

Leaders have recognised that teachers are dealing with a changed and more complex workload. These include being in school and working from home in the same week and other personal and Covid-related issues
Knowledge and Human Development Authority

Twenty-one per cent of parents reported that they would want their children to continue with online learning after the Covid-19 pandemic, with 61 per cent disagreeing with this sentiment and the remaining 18 per cent unsure.

The pandemic transformed the education sector for many millions of pupils and teachers around the globe as schools switched to online learning.

While traditional education methods still hold sway with the public, schools have adapted to new technology to ensure study continues during the pandemic.

Teacher wellbeing was brought under focus in the new report.

“Leaders have recognised that teachers are dealing with a changed and more complex workload,” read the KHDA study, titled Community First.

“These include being in school and working from home in the same week, balancing the needs of pupils doing distance and face-to-face learning, and other personal and Covid-related issues.”

According to the study, schools established ways to help teachers who were struggling during the pandemic.

Schools organised wellness committees to support staff, had mentors to coach teachers with IT skills when schools moved to online learning, and organised informal virtual events.

“The education community learnt a great deal in its response to the challenges presented by the pandemic, especially in areas of pupil and staff wellbeing; the provision of distance and blended learning; and the key role of educators working from home and school,” Fatma Belrehif, chief executive officer of Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau at KHDA, said.

“This report applies these lessons to how we could experience teaching and learning in the future.”

Parents’ engagement in their children’s education changed during the pandemic, and 61 per cent parents said they were now much more involved in it.

The report revealed that 87 per cent parents were satisfied with the quality of education their children received.

Most of the Dubai’s pupil population of close to 300,000 children, barring those with exemptions, went back to classrooms on October 3, when schools reopened throughout the emirate.

The UAE has embraced technology to further its development in numerous sectors, education included.

An innovative coding college without teachers or classrooms opened in Abu Dhabi this week, with 225 students.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, a member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, inaugurated the campus, called 42 Abu Dhabi, in Mina Zayed on Sunday.

Sheikh Khaled said it represented a milestone in the UAE leadership’s strategy to nurture tomorrow’s leaders today.

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31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

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19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
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Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


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Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

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Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

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if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Updated: October 14, 2021, 5:55 AM