AL AIN // Education officials who came to a meeting yesterday expecting complaints about housing, visas, health insurance and salaries from 650 newly arrived teachers left to cheers and applause. The teachers, all based in the Al Ain area, asked for the meeting with officials from the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) after many complained that they had not been housed, paid or provided with medical insurance since their arrival two months ago. They are part of a group of 940 new teachers across the emirate.
Yesterday's meeting at the InterContinental Hotel ended with Adec officials handing out apartment keys. Lorraine Haughey, an Adec representative at the meeting, said the education authority was working overtime to resolve the issues. "The new teachers are understandably frustrated that things have taken some time to resolve," she said. "They expected things to be resolved overnight but here things move a bit slower than they do in the West. Our phones have been ringing non-stop as we worked overtime to alleviate all the problems."
The new recruits had voiced their frustration at having had to live in hotels for so long, some with children and infants, and not having their passports in their possession, preventing them from opening bank accounts, renting cars, or even getting a mobile telephone number. Frustrated at the lack of information provided by Adec, some were threatening to return home if their demands were not met. One teacher, who declined to be named, said communication from Adec had been "poor" and that its failure to provide a salary advance was putting a financial strain on her family.
The announcement from Youssef al Marzouqi, Adec's general services manager, that teachers would leave the meeting with their apartment keys in hand, was met with cheers and applause from the audience. "Thanks for your patience and understanding. I know you have a lot of questions about accommodations and housing," Mr al Marzouqi said. "I will start by saying that your apartments will be allocated after this meeting and you can begin moving in tomorrow."
The teachers were told that they would receive furniture allowances on Sunday and could remain in hotels for five days to have time to set up their new homes. One teacher, an American man, said: "I was expecting to come here to be told to be patient and that everything would eventually be worked out," he said. "I didn't expect that anything would be resolved today. I am pleasantly surprised." Mr al Marzouqi went on to explain that the delay on the issuance of residency visas was out of the authority's hands. "We are waiting for third parties to provide services such as government entities, the health authority and insurance companies," he said. "We have no control over them. We have delivered hundreds of passports to the immigration authorities over the past few weeks, but they process only a few a day. We are working to speed up the process with them and expect that you will all have your passports in hand next week."
Another teacher, a US citizen, voiced concern that her assigned school in Al Wagan, about an hour's drive south of Al Ain, was too far for her to commute from her accommodation every day. Mr al Marzouqi told her that teachers whose schools were outside Al Ain would be picked up and dropped off by buses hired by Adec. Hundreds of health insurance cards were also handed out to those who had completed their health checks.
For those who arrived less than three weeks ago, Mr al Marzouqi asked that they be patient while Adec processes their visas, national identity cards and health insurance. A similar meeting is being held in Abu Dhabi today for new teachers in the capital area who also complained. Adec countered that the vast majority of teachers had not complained about their treatment upon arrival and said that many had already received their visas.
ealghalib@thenational.ae
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
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
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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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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