The Higher Colleges of Technology is one of the schools running a large defecit according to an FNC report.
The Higher Colleges of Technology is one of the schools running a large defecit according to an FNC report.

Debt worry over federal universities



ABU DHABI // Two federal universities have tens of millions of dirhams of deficit and debt as well as overdraft borrowing, according to an FNC report.

The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) had a budget deficit of at least Dh110 million in 2009, and Zayed University owes Dh33 million in unpaid electricity and water bills to authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the report says. It provides an insight into the finances of the federal universities, including the high cost of foundation English programmes, which some are trying to phase out.

Many students at federal universities have to take the foundation courses to improve their English to degree-course standard. Zayed University spent more than Dh104 million on its foundation programme between 2007 and 2009.

The figures in the FNC report were compiled by the State Audit Institution along with a number of bodies, including HCT and Zayed University themselves.

The report, by the FNC's financial affairs committee, analysed federal spending by a range of government bodies in 2009. It is intended to inform the FNC's debate on the federal budget, scheduled for December 28. The HCT and Zayed University budgets for 2011 have been frozen at the 2010 figures of Dh736 million and Dh321 million respectively.

The report said the HCT had paid nearly Dh4 million in rent for an entire apartment building in the capital that it never used. The HCT replied that it leased the building because it expected to have to accommodate an increased number of students during a housing shortage, and the building was fully occupied by the beginning of the 2009 academic year.

Auditors also said the HCT gave pay increases to senior directors that exceeded its own salary limits.

The Colleges said they awarded the increases to senior directors with many years' service, based on a university decision placing no limits on the salaries of such officials.

The HCT also failed to collect nearly Dh23 million in revenue over several years for services it provided jointly with research and other institutes, and had to obtain a bank overdraft to cover the cost of admitting more students during the 2009-2010 academic year.

The university owed more than Dh7 million in interest payments on the overdraft in 2009. It said it wanted to avoid such problems but found itself “forced to this to cover its costs, especially the salaries and benefits of its employees”.

The FNC report said the HCT had a budget deficit of Dh183 million in 2009. The HCT disputes the figure. It says the deficit was less than Dh120 million, and a surplus the previous year reduced it to around Dh110 million.

The HCT’s funding problems were the subject of a separate FNC report last month. During a debate in the chamber, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the chancellor of HCT and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said the frozen budget was the source of the HCT’s “deficiencies”.

Zayed University exceeded its budget for 2009 by Dh33.3 million, but it raised additional revenue of roughly the same amount.

The university said the reason for its overspending was an increase in the number of students. It added that “it was possible to avoid overspending by speeding up the implementation of the funding mechanism based on the principle of student cost”.

The Government eventually supplemented Zayed University’s budget with more than Dh41 million in early 2010, a sum based on the number of students.

The university owes more than Dh33 million in unpaid electricity and water bills to the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, the FNC report said.

The university says it is negotiating with the two government bodies to waive the utility bills because it does not have enough money in its budget to pay them.

In addition, the university has not collected Dh42 million in fees owed by a range of unnamed institutions up to 2009. It replied that it had collected roughly half of these fees.

The university also spent Dh1.9 million on academic textbooks in 2009.

The Ministry of Finance says financial assistance from the Government is based on the size of the student body. Despite the HCT having the largest student body, the university complex receives the second highest budget allocation for federal colleges after UAE University.

The federal budget is allocated for three years, so the universities’ budgets are unlikely to increase between 2011 and 2013.

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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus  Press

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

MATCH INFO

First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs

Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets

Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13

 

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens

Winners: Dubai Hurricanes

Runners up: Bahrain

 

West Asia Premiership

Winners: Bahrain

Runners up: UAE Premiership

 

UAE Premiership

Winners: Dubai Exiles

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

 

UAE Division One

Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

 

UAE Division Two

Winners: Barrelhouse

Runners up: RAK Rugby

Tips for entertaining with ease

·         Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.

·         As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.

·         Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.

·         Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.

·         The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.

·         You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.

 

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia