How does education in the UAE compare to other countries in the region? The answer, according to a recent report, is pretty well. As The National reported last week, the country is ranked highest in the Middle East and North Africa region and 45th worldwide in a global school rankings list compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In comparison, Saudi Arabia ranked 66th, Qatar 68th and Oman 72nd.
That we top the Mena list should come as no surprise: the country has a dynamic and expanding education environment – new, well-equipped schools staffed with highly qualified, motivated teachers open every year – and a commitment to establishing a knowledge-based, post-oil economy.
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Read more about the UAE’s schools:
■ School league tables a triumph of transparency
■ Private schools need a push to improve quality
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Bearing that commitment in mind, it is reasonable to expect the UAE to continue to outperform its neighbours. Perhaps, however, the education sector should now concentrate on looking upwards rather than down and to focus more on being among the best in the world. As the OECD report notes, there is a compulsion to do so: the country could increase its GDP by a quarter by 2095 if pupils increased their Pisa test scores by 25 points.
The way to do that is by focusing on the problems in average schools. This country is blessed with many high-performing schools but it’s the cohort in the “middle” bracket that holds back all-round development: 40 per cent of pupils are not currently meeting appropriate levels of skill in maths and science. One education expert also said that the UAE will not substantially improve its ranking until it breaks the culture of rote learning.
If the authorities were able to pull up the middle, the entire sector and, indeed, the country as a whole will benefit.
