Dubai Police have signed agreements with two universities in the emirate to offer third level education to inmates.
American University in the Emirates and Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University will offer degree courses for prisoners.
The four-year degree programmes are being offered in subjects including business administration and accounting.
Dubai Police have secured 40 places for inmates at the two universities, said Brig Ali Al Shamali, director of punitive and correctional establishments at Dubai Police.
He said costs for the courses have been eliminated for each prisoner, who will be able to connect with the university lectures through remote access.
“We will handle the fees for expatriate inmates and, as they can't be physically present in universities, they will be able to join online,” said Brig Al Shamali.
If a prisoner completes their sentence before the end of the course, the universities have agreed to make arrangements for them to complete the course from another location.
Thirty-two people aged between 28 and 40, who are serving jail terms for financial or drug offences, have so far registered to join the courses.
Some of them have obtained their high school certificates in prison through an education programme that has been in existence in Dubai since 1979, to give inmates an opportunity to finish their second level education.
A total of 1,767 people have completed the programme since it was established.
In 2021, 466 prisoners took high school exams.
As many of the prisoners come from different backgrounds, where English isn't their first language, a number of inmates had to pass the test of English as a foreign language, which is one of the university requirements.
“We conducted a first course strengthening inmates' English language skills for the TOEFL and soon will begin with a second one,” he said.
“Sixteen of them passed the tests and I really hope they will pursue their university education".
After they pass the TOEFL exams, prisoners are able to start the university course and attend lectures online from one of the prison's smart halls.
“The hall has been equipped with loudspeakers, screens, laptops and iPads and is connected to the Wi-Fi,” he said.
“It's one of 11 other smaller halls and can accommodate around 38 people.”
Dubai Police hope to sign similar agreements with more universities, including the Higher Colleges of Technology and Skyline University College.
“Education for inmates, regardless of their nationalities, is a top priority for the Dubai Police commander-in-chief,” said Brig Al Shamali.
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Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
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- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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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.”
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
