DUBAI // Only one Indian school improved its rating in the past year, a report by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority shows.
Inspections of the 25 schools following the Indian curriculum this academic year rated two as outstanding, eight good, 13 acceptable and two unsatisfactory.
The two outstanding schools were Gems Modern Academy and the Indian High School. Both have had this rating since the 2011-2012 academic year.
The two unsatisfactory, Crescent English and Gulf Modern schools, have held that ranking since 2012-2013.
The only schools that changed ratings were JSS Private School, which improved from acceptable to good, and Gems Our Own Indian School, which dropped from good to acceptable.
Schools must try harder to hit goals set by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the report said.
“The Indian schools have shown significant improvement in their students’ performance since 2007 and are moving closer to achieving the aspirational targets,” it said.
“However, despite the average score in Grade 8 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study assessments almost reaching the UAE target, the students still have significant gaps to achieve the other targets.”
Sheikh Mohammed had set a national target to be among 20 highest performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment by 2021, and in the 15 highest performers for the Timss.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau conducted the inspections of the schools in September and October last year.
Ashok Kumar, chief executive of the Indian High School, said he was pleased with his school’s top ranking.
“This is the second time the schools will be writing the tests,” Mr Kumar said. “What is required is awareness, and KHDA is working on that on a large scale.
“Under their umbrella, the training of teachers and parent awareness is being worked on. These things are already being taken care of.
“Revision of the curriculum, training of the teachers and awareness of the parents are important, and we have focused on this. The processes have already been done and our school’s scores are way ahead.”
The report also evaluated whether schools made provision for children with special needs, and for early learning.
“The most successful Indian curriculum schools introduced and used other international early years curricula to enrich children’s learning experiences,” the report said.
“They had invested significantly in improving the quality of the learning environment and provided resources for children that promoted learning and development through play.”
Mr Kumar said: “Our school has facilities for children with special needs, including a learning centre, and different curriculums and also a one-to-one approach with students.
“We have early development programmes. This is important because this is the habit-formation age and you need to inculcate the right culture and habits at that time.
“Every Indian school is making an effort, but sometimes resources are lacking or teacher training is a challenge.”
The report said there were 75,175 pupils and 8,898 teachers in Dubai’s Indian schools.
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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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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