Not all university students’ projects can turn heads. And yet this is exactly what one study by an Emirati graduate student at Al Hosn University has done in the past few days.
Thuraya Khalifa al Salmi’s study on adult education centres in Abu Dhabi has uncovered that a much larger percentage of secondary students are dropping out of high school in Abu Dhabi than originally estimated. As many as 51 per cent of students drop out, mostly due to social and economic challenges.
The results were quickly picked up by WAM, the UAE national wire service, and published across the country. Ms al Salmi’s findings can serve as a reminder to young Emiratis that their work will not go unnoticed if it is professionally resourced and executed in addition to addressing a social challenge. Her study also sadly serves as a reminder of the substantial challenges the UAE faces with regard to educating nationals.
Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 states that “the emirate intends to become a regional centre of learning and culture with world-class higher education institutions and schools in order to attract the best teachers and students”.
According to Ms al Salmi’s study, this noble and ambitious goal faces a major stumbling block. Also, unless this issue is addressed, Abu Dhabi may turn into a global centre of higher learning and education targeted only at visiting students rather than its national population.
Using Singapore as an educational benchmark, Vision 2030 also outlined the emirate’s desire to see an increase in the level of higher education its workforce received. The plan proposes to more than double the share of the Emirate’s population that holds a tertiary degree (undergraduate and postgraduate education) from 16 per cent, estimated in 2007, to 35 per cent in 2030.
The study by Ms al Salmi can serve as a wake up call for those implementing Vision 2030. In fact, the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone found in an earlier survey that the number of dropouts in the last year of high-school is not only high but is steadily increasing.
Earlier this year, Paul Dyer, a labour and demographics expert and fellow at the Dubai School of Government, told The National that some Emiratis drop out of school because older family members lacked formal education. He also cited the option of joining the military, which allows them to start earning money at an earlier stage to support their families.
The National also found that an Omani plan to deal with the high number of high-school dropouts (estimated at 7,000) did not meet with much success, as it did not provide educational facilities for those who dropped out because of learning disabilities or special needs.
When I was living in London three years ago I recall meeting Hamad, one of my nephew’s good friends, whose school in the UAE had bluntly told his parents that he was incapable of completing his secondary degree due to a handicap. His father contacted a specialised school in Manchester, which identified his so-called handicap as dyslexia. Hamad recently informed us that he will soon be graduating from university thanks to the simple fact that an instructor would read his questions out for him during examinations.
The UAE must provide high-school dropouts with alternatives to completing a high-school degree, including vocational training and back-to-school incentives. Ironically, some Emiratis still view the American General Educational Development, or GED diploma, as a more accessible alternative than the UAE Ministry of Education’s programme that provides night classes. Upon completion, the GED allows holders to access American or Canadian universities not only in the UAE but also internationally.
Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 education targets are quite ambitious, but attainable. And yet, it seems that in our rush to plan for the future, we are forgetting the present complex set of realities.
Vision 2030 is not solely an educational vision; it is a social promise to the people of Abu Dhabi and the UAE that things will only get better for them in the future.
In order to succeed, those who are implementing it must work hand-in-hand to plug all the loopholes that could jeopardise its success. The Vision must also learn how to walk before it runs, so to speak, since the challenges facing many young nationals are of an immediate nature.
For Vision 2030 to work, this ambitious plan must be brought back to the ground and made to work from the bottom up. As a start, it wouldn’t hurt to ask what the young Emirati who has helped bring the situation to light, Ms al Sami, what she thinks ought to be done.
*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday 6th June 2010
Showing posts with label educational development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational development. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Sunday, 21 February 2010
A national vision to prevent a north-south divide
It was refreshing to read earlier this month that the federal Government has outlined a unified vision for this country’s golden jubilee. Before this federal vision was established, planning for the future had been conducted by each emirate on an individual basis, as if we were a group of neighbouring countries and not one nation.
The 4,000-word document that was unveiled on February 6 after a three-day marathon meeting at the Qasr Al Sarab (Mirage Palace) resort in Liwa is a charter for the state of the union in 2021. While such an initiative should be lauded for its emphasis on women’s empowerment and environmental concerns, among other issues, the next step no doubt will be the most challenging – implementation and follow up.
A comparison could be made with Bahrain’s Vision 2030, which was based on specific deliverable points that will make it easier to measure success or failure. The plan envisioned by the island kingdom provided milestones that can be measured against world developmental indices. For instance, the contribution of the small and medium size sector will be measured by the number of jobs that this sector creates along with its contribution to real GDP growth. In Vision 2021, the word entrepreneurship is mentioned nine times, but is accompanied by adjectives and not deliverable goals.
Another issue that I have with Vision 2021 is the fact that it promises nationwide mobility, quality health care and economic growth. The key word here is nationwide. It is fairly obvious that the growth of the UAE has centred around three emirates, from south to north: Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Growth in the northern emirates has not met Emiratis’ aspirations. Visiting Umm al Qaiwain for instance, despite its beauty, is a solemn reminder of this fact. Perhaps the Cabinet should convene its next retreat there or in any of the Northern Emirates to display unity and allow the decision-makers to experience various parts of the country firsthand and see for themselves the urgency of the matter.
It would also be encouraging if Vision 2021 included, for instance, a promise that certain federal authorities and institutions would be distributed across the country rather than in the unbalanced concentration we see today. Without such a plan, a resident of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah will find little reason for visiting the Northern Emirates except for a weekend getaway.
Another challenge is the state of education in the country. Once again, the south-north divide is in danger of widening. Because of the relative wealth of some emirates, their local governments are able to invest more than the federal budget on education. The National reported on February 11 that in one emirate there exists two public school curricula, an updated version for wealthier, locally funded public schools and an outdated version for federally funded ones. A plan to reconcile the two failed.
Because of such discrepancies in education, along with differences in health care, infrastructure and job opportunities, it is likely that Emiratis will continue to choose living in the wealthier emirates. Those responsible for the implementation of Vision 2021 must take these issues into consideration and tackle the south-north divide.
Unless there is a solution, northern Emiratis will be doomed to a poorer quality public education and standard of living, while their compatriots in the south go to well-equipped and staffed schools. This vicious circle will lead to graduates from the Northern Emirates employed in low paying work, further deepening the south-north divide.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, I wonder how this vision compares with other plans that have been announced in some emirates.
Here is what I propose to make Vision 2021 closer to becoming a reality. A dedicated follow-up committee made up of representatives from the various emirates should be created to measure the success of Vision 2021’s implementation and report candidly to the Prime Minister on an annual basis. This annual report must be shared with the public to reinforce trust that this document is taken seriously.
Milestones must be set to measure the progress that is achieved. The challenges that plague the UAE’s less developed regions in the Northern Emirates are not too different from those facing much of the Arab world, as detailed by the United Nations Development Programme, the Arab Thought Foundation and our very own Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation in Dubai.
The experts are available, the capital is available and, as the will seems to be available as well, there is nothing stopping this country’s northern region from making a giant leap forward.
The spirit behind Vision 2021 is noble and should be commended. However, the lack of detail, measurable milestones and follow-up steps may leave much to be desired by the average Emirati.
*This article was first published in The National on Sunday, 21 February 2010
The 4,000-word document that was unveiled on February 6 after a three-day marathon meeting at the Qasr Al Sarab (Mirage Palace) resort in Liwa is a charter for the state of the union in 2021. While such an initiative should be lauded for its emphasis on women’s empowerment and environmental concerns, among other issues, the next step no doubt will be the most challenging – implementation and follow up.
A comparison could be made with Bahrain’s Vision 2030, which was based on specific deliverable points that will make it easier to measure success or failure. The plan envisioned by the island kingdom provided milestones that can be measured against world developmental indices. For instance, the contribution of the small and medium size sector will be measured by the number of jobs that this sector creates along with its contribution to real GDP growth. In Vision 2021, the word entrepreneurship is mentioned nine times, but is accompanied by adjectives and not deliverable goals.
Another issue that I have with Vision 2021 is the fact that it promises nationwide mobility, quality health care and economic growth. The key word here is nationwide. It is fairly obvious that the growth of the UAE has centred around three emirates, from south to north: Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Growth in the northern emirates has not met Emiratis’ aspirations. Visiting Umm al Qaiwain for instance, despite its beauty, is a solemn reminder of this fact. Perhaps the Cabinet should convene its next retreat there or in any of the Northern Emirates to display unity and allow the decision-makers to experience various parts of the country firsthand and see for themselves the urgency of the matter.
It would also be encouraging if Vision 2021 included, for instance, a promise that certain federal authorities and institutions would be distributed across the country rather than in the unbalanced concentration we see today. Without such a plan, a resident of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah will find little reason for visiting the Northern Emirates except for a weekend getaway.
Another challenge is the state of education in the country. Once again, the south-north divide is in danger of widening. Because of the relative wealth of some emirates, their local governments are able to invest more than the federal budget on education. The National reported on February 11 that in one emirate there exists two public school curricula, an updated version for wealthier, locally funded public schools and an outdated version for federally funded ones. A plan to reconcile the two failed.
Because of such discrepancies in education, along with differences in health care, infrastructure and job opportunities, it is likely that Emiratis will continue to choose living in the wealthier emirates. Those responsible for the implementation of Vision 2021 must take these issues into consideration and tackle the south-north divide.
Unless there is a solution, northern Emiratis will be doomed to a poorer quality public education and standard of living, while their compatriots in the south go to well-equipped and staffed schools. This vicious circle will lead to graduates from the Northern Emirates employed in low paying work, further deepening the south-north divide.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, I wonder how this vision compares with other plans that have been announced in some emirates.
Here is what I propose to make Vision 2021 closer to becoming a reality. A dedicated follow-up committee made up of representatives from the various emirates should be created to measure the success of Vision 2021’s implementation and report candidly to the Prime Minister on an annual basis. This annual report must be shared with the public to reinforce trust that this document is taken seriously.
Milestones must be set to measure the progress that is achieved. The challenges that plague the UAE’s less developed regions in the Northern Emirates are not too different from those facing much of the Arab world, as detailed by the United Nations Development Programme, the Arab Thought Foundation and our very own Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation in Dubai.
The experts are available, the capital is available and, as the will seems to be available as well, there is nothing stopping this country’s northern region from making a giant leap forward.
The spirit behind Vision 2021 is noble and should be commended. However, the lack of detail, measurable milestones and follow-up steps may leave much to be desired by the average Emirati.
*This article was first published in The National on Sunday, 21 February 2010
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