Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has praised thousands of school-leavers for achieving impressive exam results amid the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
More than 28,000 Year 12 pupils at government and private schools that follow the Ministry of Education curriculum contributed to an overall pass rate of 91 per cent in in-person tests held in the spring.
The Emirates Schools Establishment, the UAE’s new public school operator, announced the end-of-year exam results on Sunday.
"We congratulate our high school students on their graduation, especially the outstanding ones," Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter.
"We thank the educational field for overcoming an unusual academic year. The future is more beautiful, God willing."
More than 11,000 pupils in the elite and advanced streams secured a 100 per cent pass rate.
The elite stream, which began in 2017, is for outstanding pupils. Children can enrol in it from Grade Five and are taught maths, science and English.
Pupils can enrol in the advanced stream when they finish Grade Eight.
More than 3,000 teachers and other school staff worked to ensure the in-person exams could go ahead.
Sheikh Mohammed praises star pupils
Sheikh Mohammed singled out a number of students for their notable exam results.
He congratulated Hind Al Jenahi at Al Salam High School, Abdulrahman Al Neimi at the Institute of Applied Technology in Ras Al Khaimah, Raghad Danawi at the Qatr Al Nada Secondary School, Mira Alzaabi at the Institute of Applied Technology in Falaj Al Mualla, Rahaf Al Dulaimi at the Vision Private School, Fatema Al Shaamaly at the Mareya Al Qebteya Girls School for Secondary Education and Sheikha Ahmad at Al Hikmah Private School.
The exam results for Grade 12 were announced on Sunday. Results for 10th and 11th graders will be revealed on Monday, and pupils in Grades Eight and Nine will get their results on Tuesday.
Pupils in Grades Four to Seven will be handed their results on Wednesday, and children in Grades One to Three will receive their results on Thursday.
Parents and pupils have been asked to check the students’ portal to learn the results. Pupils can get their e-certificate by visiting Al Manhal portal until the certificates are issued two days after the results are announced.
Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education and chairwoman of the board of Emirates School Establishment, said the results were testament to the country's strong education infrastructure.
“Today’s accomplishment is the result of a well-developed education system that was created in line with the country’s future needs, strategies and vision," Ms Al Muhairi said.
Among private school pupils that follow the Ministry of Education’s curriculum, 8,255 achieved an approximate pass rate of 96 per cent.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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India squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
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.”
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
