I am surprised to hear that teachers are so exhausted that they have to be absent frequently (Abu Dhabi teachers hit back at report, cite workload for high absentee rate, December 15).
Let’s look at a small calculation: a teacher in the UAE will typically have 180 working days, while other employees have 280 days.
A typical day at school starts at 8am and finishes at 3pm, with a one-hour lunch break. That is six working hours a day. Other people work a minimum of eight hours a day. So on a yearly basis, a teacher works 1,080 hours and the rest of the UAE 2,240 hours.
Patrick Schelfhout, Dubai
Some people have no idea about the life of a teacher. If only it was 8am to 3pm, they would be laughing. I gave up teaching as I was working six to nine hours, plus at least one day of my weekend. I had no time for my family or house. Some cope better than others, but my family meant more to me.
My family were constantly moaning at me to take some time out with them and I would say, I can’t, I have books to mark, lessons to plan, reports to do, inspections to prepare for and I need to ring Mrs X about her son’s behaviour.
Some lessons take longer to prepare than they do to deliver and although you can adjust previous year’s lessons, the criteria are constantly changing. If only it were the little job people think it is.
Carol Goodey, Abu Dhabi
Make rents more reasonable
Even though almost a third of all the homes expected to be completed in Dubai this year are sitting empty, rents are not coming down (About 6,000 new homes sitting empty in Dubai amid poor property market conditions, December 15). The best way to stop people from sharing villas is to make these empty houses available to them at a reasonable price.
Amjad Khan, Dubai
These properties would not lie vacant if the landlords bridle their expectations by charging reasonable rents. Unfortunately, they would prefer to keep their properties vacant until they get the rent they want.
Rashid Abu Amer, Dubai
Too many houses are empty because most people can’t afford them. Those who can already have one. Even if investors buy them, they will still be empty for the aforementioned reason.
Maybe it’s time for the Government to intervene and make housing affordable, since salaries are not increasing. This is why many people are moving to Sharjah, which is also contributing to this phenomenon.
Name withheld by request
Think before you borrow money
I feel the person mentioned in the article UAE debt stories: oil and gas worker's suicidal thoughts over Dh128,000 owed (December 14) is himself responsible for the financial mess that he finds himself in. He shouldn't have taken out loans for his sisters' wedding. He first should have asked himself what if he wasn't able to pay the debt back?
At the least, the marriages could have been court marriages. He would have incurred a smaller amount of debt if he had made wiser choices.
I hope he is able to solve his problem.
Name withheld by request
UAE can foster the next Google
I strongly believe that the UAE can foster the next Google, Apple or Facebook (Will the UAE foster the next Google, Apple or Facebook? December 14).
However, things such as internet services need to be improved in terms of choice, openness, speed and cost.
This could enable a whole generation of “bedroom” entrepreneurs as well as make using such services more enjoyable to users.
Aqeel Ahmed, Abu Dhabi
