ABU DHABI // Fewer than 1 in 10 instructors at public universities and colleges is Emirati, it was revealed at the Federal National Council on Wednesday.
Members of the council called for better salaries and incentives for Emiratis, making a career in academia was more attractive to them.
Of 2,872 instructors in public universities, 252 were Emirati the 2014-2015 academic year. In private universities, only 85 out of 4,364 were Emiratis.
FNC members believed this low figure was because of low salaries and long hours that give academics little time to undertake research that would help them advance their careers.
The council heard that the average salary of an instructor at the UAE University was Dh57,500 a month while a lecturer was paid Dh 28,667.
At Zayed University, the salary of an instructor was not declared, but that of an associate instructor was Dh23,000, while a lecturer earnt Dh16,000 and a professor’s salary was Dh23,031.
Dr Ahmad Belhoul, Minister of State for Higher Education, attended the session to answer questions from members.
Hamad Al Rahoomi, member for Dubai, said it was a concern that the lack of Emirati staff meant foreigners taught local traditions and values, because the students should be learning identity and loyalty from a a countryman, “not someone who does not even know the names of the places”.
“I took this point from the students themselves,” said Mr Al Rahoomi.
“How do I learn about my traditions from a non-Emirati? What does he know about my history?” he said students had told him.
Dr Al Belhoul said he did not see a problem if the instructor was qualified in that subject.
Dr Rima Sabban, an Emirati associate professor of sociology at Zayed University, believed there were factors beyond the salary issue that led Emiratis to shun academia.
She said not enough had been done to invest in academics and improve their skillsets.
“At the start, Emirati academics were appreciated by the Government, like when an Emirati achieved the level of PHD, you felt great appreciation,” she said.
She believed more Emiratis were opting for careers in business.
She agreed that academics were overburdened by having to teach about eight courses a year, which left no room for them gain promotions or reach the full professorial level.
While she was able to get promoted at Zayed University, she said the institutions were not focusing on their staff’s careers and Emiratis were not given priority.
She hoped the Government would work to make Emiratis “knowledge producers not just teachers”.
The FNC also heard that 47 per cent of high school graduates were enrolling in private universities instead of public ones, and 39 per cent enrolled in free zone universities because they were easier to get accepted in.
Member Afraa Al Basti (Dubai) said that in public universities the minimum high school average to be accepted was too high. She called for English language placement tests such as IELTS, SAT and TOEFL to be replaced by national examinations.
She said the high English language requirements were unfair for students who came from the mountains or the desert who may have had excellent academic performances but were rejected in universities because of their poor English skills.
Dr Belhoul said his ministry was already looking into this issue.
FNC speaker Dr Amal Al Qubaisi argued that there should be a balance between preserving Arabic and promoting English, which is the language of “the times whether we like it or not”.
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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.”
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