Parents welcome Abu Dhabi school quality report



ABU DHABI // Parents will now have access to detailed information about the quality of their children's schools.
On Thursday, Abu Dhabi Education Council will release a 44-page report detailing the results of school inspections held in the emirate's 146 private schools between 2011 and 2013. The findings will be available online at www.adec.ac.ae.
The report shows that 100 of the 146 private schools audited between 2011 and 2013 are "in need of significant improvement" - rated unsatisfactory, very unsatisfactory or poor.
For Emirati parent Amna Saeed, who is trying to find a school to enroll her four-year-old daughter at this autumn, the results could not come soon enough.
"As first-time parents, we felt it was really helpful to us, to guide us where to put our child because we're really confused because there are so many schools out there," Mrs Saeed said.
"We just didn't know which one was the best and, like all parents, you look for the best for your kids. It really helps to at least guide us to the top schools. It's helpful, they shortlist it for us. Because there are a lot of schools, a lot of private schools."
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Inspectors spent four days assessing private schools in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia. They visited classrooms, interviewed teachers and pupils and surveyed parents. 
The schools were graded on eight performance standards: pupils' attainment and progress; their personal development; quality of teaching and learning; the extent to which the school was meeting pupils' needs through the curriculum; the protection, care, guidance and support of pupils; the quality of the school's infrastructure; the school's resources to support its aims; and the effectiveness of leadership and management.
Inspectors ranked the schools from one, outstanding, to eight, poor. These grades were then grouped into one of three bands, A, B and C.
The results are a slight improvement from the first inspection cycle from 2009 to 2011, when 92 of the 127 private schools audited were grouped in Band C for unsatisfactory. The results of the inspection cycle ending in 2011 were the first to be made public since inspections began in 2008.
While the proportion of unsatisfactory schools is slightly smaller, some schools are also improving. In the latest report, 23 were deemed to be "high performing" compared with 14 in 2011, and 29 were satisfactory compared with 21 in 2011.
"Schools offering either a British or an American curriculum are the only large groups in which a majority provides education of a satisfactory or better quality," the inspection report says. 
The results indicate that nearly two thirds of private-school pupils, 111,040 children, attend schools that are in need of significant improvement.
The schools regulator, Adec, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, says progress is being made.
The report also outlines some success stories. Four schools are highlighted for making dramatic improvements.
Al Sanawbar Private School, of Al Ain, jumped from the lowest rank to the highest in a matter of two years. It hired a consultant to help bring it to higher standards that have earned it a Band A rating last year.
Vice principal Hala Sarieddine said the ranking helped to boost staff morale, raise standards and also increase interest among prospective parents.
"It was very rewarding for the school when we got the Band A," she said.
newsdesk@thenational.ae

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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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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.”