Children are not being prepared or equipped with the skills required for the future, a globally known historian and educator has said.
Sir Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of the UK's University of Buckingham and a highly regarded contemporary historian and commentator, believes learners deserve an education that develops their character and well-being just as much as it does their grades.
He said much work needs to be done to provide a well-rounded learning experience across the globe.
Speaking at the Global Education Forum organised by The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, Sir Anthony said the work being carried out in the UAE with cognitive and holistic learning is “very important”.
“Imagine going to the gym and rather than working on the entire body, you just work on the left leg,” he said.
“So the other leg and the trunk become very weak. However, you have an incredibly strong left leg. That's what our education system is like the world over.
The educator said that we are only educating children on a “small part of what it means to be a human being”, but that the UAE is “leading the way” in providing education that supports well-being as well as academic success.
Mr Seldon believes seats of learning are stuck in the past in terms of their teaching methods and are still preparing pupils “for the 20th century”.
“We are almost a quarter of the way into the 21st century and is about time we woke up.
On the UAE, Mr Seldon said that there is “deep respect” for the country all over the world for the way it has been” true to its religion but has also embraced and been welcoming to Western values”.
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“The UAE has done extraordinarily well and I think the most important contribution of this country and its greatest leadership is in championing well-being and grounding schools on a holistic understanding of what well-being and character are.
“It has such a tremendous platform and a geographic position to link east and west, north and south.”
Holistic learning is a philosophy of education that involves helping pupils to develop webs of information rather than memorising straight facts. The idea is to educate the whole person, with their intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potentials benefiting as well as their academic knowledge.
Aimed at thrusting UAE education institutions into the future, Dubai's Rahhal Initiative allows pupils to study at more than one school or even part-time, while spending the rest of their time developing the skills they are most interested in. It is designed to provide a creative and innovative alternative to mainstream education.
Mr Seldon also expressed caution over artificial intelligence as the technology becomes more integrated with all parts of society, including education.
He said it is important that the human touch is not lost as AI continues to rise in prominence, and urged decision-makers to be aware of its potential benefits and dangers.
Mr Seldon is the author of a number of books, including biographies of four UK Prime Ministers.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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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
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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