DUBAI // The new legislation to protect children from abuse and neglect instructs schools to look out for troubled pupils and has a long-term focus on removing the stigma from depression and mental health issues.
If suicidal tendencies are spotted in young people or a suicide note is discovered, school staff must immediately alert the authorities and parents, according to the law enforced this month that applies to children up to the age of 18.
Parents and experts welcomed the law and called for in-depth training of teachers.
“It is important that schools advise children on how to manage stress and provide increased levels of support and counselling services to help children during difficult periods. Schools can work collaboratively with parents supporting children during stressful times,” said Dr Yaseen Aslam, consultant psychiatrist and medical director of Lighthouse Arabia.
“It’s absolutely fantastic the new legislation explicitly mentions these factors so parents, teachers and counsellors can be educated about signs and symptoms of common psychiatric disorders that can occur in children, about signs of risk that trigger alarm bells so children can be supported and teachers are aware of what to look out for.
“We should have the right support structures and mechanism in place to make children feel they can always approach somebody to discuss and share their inner feelings.”
Highlighting the suicide of Indian teenager Abhimanyu Sadasivan two years ago, government officials have said that, under the new law, the school would be held accountable if parents and authorities were not informed about a pupil’s suicide note.
Abhimanyu, 16, who attended the Indian High School in Dubai, hanged himself on March 2, 2014, five days after writing a lengthy suicide note on a chemistry exam paper in which he detailed the pressures of the Indian Central Board of Secondary education system.
When he did not appear for a maths test on March 2, his parents were called to the school and told that teachers were waiting for him to ask him about the note. Abhimanyu’s body was found in the family’s Sharjah apartment by police.
“It would be a lot different with the new law because it would have been the duty of the school teacher to raise the alarm with the school headmaster,” said Khaled Al Kamda, director general of the Community Development Authority, the principal body overseeing child rights’ protection.
“By law, they would have to report that the child needs help. Not acting on the message is really something the law takes seriously. It comes to the point of negligence, that the signs that caused the child to commit suicide were neglected. It was the responsibility of the headmaster and teacher to talk to the parents and have a serious session with the student immediately. They should have taken measures to read the message properly and act on it.”
The school did not respond to requests for comment.
Training teachers is vital, said Lisa Barfoot-Smith, mother of Louis Smith, 15, a pupil at the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi who took his own life in 2013.
His parents set up the Louis Smith Foundation to support teenagers struggling with depression.
“Mental health issues, in general, are debilitating and, if these issues are raised, it can help save a child’s life. If every school is able to do this and monitor students that they think have issues, talk to parents, talk to the child and refer them on to any other help, then it is a fantastic thing.”
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
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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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