Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in the UAE made an overnight shift to mandatory distance learning for the 2019-20 academic year. The extraordinary circumstances facing students, parents, teachers, schools and UAE regulators as the pandemic unfolds have been challenging and transformative for all involved.
The coming weeks and months will no doubt be an important test for the education "new normal". Thinking further ahead, however, there is also a unique opportunity for national regulators to accelerate progress towards a nimble and future-proofed education system. Here, I look back at the UAE's enforced period of distance learning and overview the key learnings and insights from best practices that will shape educational policy in the UAE for generations to come.
First, there should always be a Plan B. While the UAE has dealt admirably with the pandemic so far, it cannot be ruled out that a community lockdown of some shape or form may be required again, in the short, medium or longer term. A good example of preparation excellence is provided by Singapore, which put an emergency distance learning system in place following the Sars outbreak in 2005. This system ensures that teachers receive mandatory distance learning training on an annual basis, including live trial runs for teachers and students alike. By continuing to plan for the future, the UAE's education regulators can consider similar measures to ensure a seamless transition to distance learning, if and when the need arises.
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Zack Stewart , Grade 12 teacher at the Dubai American Academy, teaching online class from his home in the Springs in March. Pawan Singh / The National -
A teacher from Yung Wing School in New York, USA remotely teaches on her laptop from her roof on March 24, 2020 in New York City. Getty Images / AFP -
Shorooq Sharaf, a teacher at Chubby Cheeks Nursery in Abu Dhabi, gives an Arabic reading lesson to children at home via video link. Antonie Robertson / The National -
The parent of a student (R) receives one of many laptops being loaned to students in need for remote learning at Yung Wing School in New York City. Getty Images / AFP -
Teacher, Taira Astab during an online lecture at the Al Yasmina Academy in Abu Dhabi, on March 19, 2020. Victor Besa / The National -
A music school teacher holds a one-to-one online flute lesson in her home in Nagykanizsa, southwestern Hungary, on March 17, 2020. EPA -
A mother and daughter, 8, from Honduras, study English on March 30, 2020 in Mineola, New York. Getty Images / AFP -
A PE teacher talks with his students during an online class at Nguyen Tat Thanh school in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 19, 2020. AP -
A girl in primary school does her homework, which was received on a digital portal, in her home in Gdansk, Poland, on March 17, 2020. EPA
It is important to emphasise the importance of technology in education. The UAE is blessed with the highest download speeds regionally, and continued investment in smart learning tools for all students is a win-win policy. Just as crucial is improving students’ tech-literacy, enhancing their future employability, and enabling schools to pivot to a distance education model, as and when needed. It is important to note that the Ministry of Education’s Smart Learning Programme had been in the works since 2015 and its technology partnerships with the likes of Microsoft facilitated the shift to distance learning.
Appropriate technology for all students is now critical – at all times. Also, as the trend continues, with more and more renowned universities adopting e-learning and investments reducing in infrastructure, the cost of education will substantially be reduced.
Like technology, teachers are also key to distance education. Distance learning supported by online tools does not replace teachers, who are the key to its success. However, online teaching methods require a unique set of soft and hard skills and a bank of suitable digital lesson materials. Open-source digital learning solutions and Learning Management Software should be adopted so that teachers can conduct teaching online. UAE policymakers might, therefore, consider how best to equip teachers with the technical knowledge to ensure that they can rise to the challenge of online learning, if called upon to do so. Given the increasing drive to make physical classrooms more tech-savvy, none of these skills would ever go to waste.
In times of adversity, we find that there is plenty of innovation. Despite the pandemic, the UAE kept calm and carried on, with the local community rallying to support students through their unprecedented "new normal". #PandemicCamp was established by two former students based in Dubai, offering free private tutoring in English, Maths and Hindi to students of CBSE schools. Separately, prominent charity Dubai Cares launched Education Uninterrupted, a nationwide fundraising campaign, which called for donations to support the purchase of computers, laptops and tablets for low-income families so that children could participate in distance education courses. UAE policymakers should consider ways to harness the grassroots volunteering innovation that flourished under lockdown, and ponder its wider potential to build social cohesion.
One must remember that education is a journey, not a destination. Having a sector-wide trial run of distance education, UAE policymakers are uniquely placed to survey the education community, log their feedback, and start a meaningful dialogue about future-proofed education models. Regulators should reflect on what can be done better, and opportunities for a more inclusive education framework. This would include catering to those suffering from long-term illness, people of determination who face particular learning challenges, students from remote areas and elite athletes whose training schedules limit full-time school attendance. The flexibility of a blended education model may well have long-term strategic advantages – and if there ever was a time explore them, it is now.
While there appears to be no debate that on-campus education is the optimal learning environment for most students, the pandemic has provided important insights for education policymakers. This disruption in the delivery of education is pushing legislators to figure out how to drive engagement at scale while ensuring inclusive e-learning solutions and tackling the digital divide.
The building blocks are in place, and with an innovative policy agenda, the sky is the limit.
Alison Eslick is a senior associate in Reed Smith’s Energy & Natural Resources Group in Dubai
