Phasing out the need for remedial courses for students about to enter university represents "a major challenge", academics said yesterday.
Their warning followed the announcement of a plan to end foundation programmes, which were established to allow under-prepared school leavers to learn the skills to begin university coursework.
The move is part of an ambitious government strategy to overhaul education from kindergarten to grade 12, when pupils would be around 17.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has asked the public for feedback on the new strategy, and there is no timetable for the end of the foundation programmes listed in the highlights of the government strategy.
However, university staff said remedial courses could not simply be removed if the quality of secondary education remained below par.
Bryan Gilroy, Zayed University's assistant provost for enrolment management, said it would be "a major challenge" to improve secondary schools enough to make the foundation programmes unnecessary.
He said such programmes were critical to address shortages in basic skills among school leavers.
"It's not primarily an [English]-language issue, although that is a big issue," he said.
"Many of the students have inadequate Arabic and maths - arguably these are as poor as their English."
Dr Gilroy said basic skills in high school needed to be examined again. "How we do that I don't know, because it's a major challenge," he said.
"The problem is huge. Currently 83 per cent of students have to go through the language programme when they arrive."
As reforms took hold in schools, Dr Gilroy said foundation programmes would "naturally get smaller".
But there were few signs that changes introduced in schools already, such as the introduction of the Madares al Ghad and public-private partnership schools, had led to improvements among school leavers, Dr Gilroy said.
"We haven't seen a noticeable jump in the language standards of students coming out of high school," he said.
At present, 94 per cent of students who join UAE University, Zayed University and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) need remedial teaching.
"The problem is it takes time to produce better teachers, improve the curriculum and raise standards," said Mark Drummond, the HCT provost.
If improvements were sustained, the HCT would be pleased if the number of students taking foundation programmes was reduced, he said. "We'd agree the colleges and universities should not be in the business of teaching material that should have been taught in high schools," said Dr Drummond.
Last year, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) ran an intensive English language summer programme for grade 11 pupils - around 16 years old - with the aim of improving English skills.
ELS, an American company hired to evaluate the programme, flagged poor English standards as a "cause for concern".
Most public school pupils on the ELS course were placed in the bottom three sections, with some having no English whatsoever. Others were said to "know a few words and phrases" and "can respond to simple questions and answers".
By the end of the course, 62 per cent of the students had obtained a "basic ability to communicate in everyday situations" or higher.
According to ELS, they had reached a level where they could "understand English when spoken slowly and clearly".
But, according to the same model, the students would require another 800 hours of intensive instruction to achieve the level of English proficiency accepted by some American universities.
A study by the federal Ministry of Education in 2005 found that by grade seven - around 12 years old - 68 per cent of pupils in public schools were two or more years below grade level in English reading and 74 per cent were at least two years behind in writing.
Natasha Ridge, a research fellow at the Dubai School of Government, said it could take more than a decade to eradicate the need for remedial English courses.
The immediate problem facing schools was that many English teachers did not speak the language fluently, particularly in boys' schools, Dr Ridge said.
"The problem is you're relying on expatriate English teachers who have a poor command of English," she said.
"What I've found is in boys' government schools in the Northern Emirates it is really terrible."
Dr Ridge said the Ministry of Education should follow the lead of the Adec and set minimum standards for language proficiency for new staff.
* The National
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
Company%20profile
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
