Teachers may need to go back to school



DUBAI // Education experts and school administrators yesterday called for an overhaul in the way teachers are hired. They also said there is an urgent need for more training for teachers already on the job. Two days after the Cabinet released the UAE National Historic Charter, a blueprint for the country's future that outlined ambitious educational goals to be achieved by 2021, participants in a Dubai School of Government panel discussion warned that the national education system's many problems will not be easily corrected.

At the top of their list of concerns: the quality of teacher-training. Simply, panel members said, low teaching skills are compromising the quality of education. In 2008, the Ministry of Education indicated that less than half of UAE teachers had university degrees in education. Its studies also found that some public school teachers had no degree at all. Dr Peggy Blackwell, dean of the College of Education at Zayed University, said the scope of the problem was challenging, citing the "sheer number" of teachers already working in the system who will require re-training.

Another challenge, Dr Blackwell said, was the shortage of funds for such programmes. "One-shot workshops are a waste of money," she said. Comprehensive re-training would require significant new investment in the educational sector. "I think there is not sufficient funding to provide the professional development that we need," she said. "You've got to have follow-up; you need to go into the classroom; you need to work with the teachers."

Numerous studies indicate that teacher quality may be the most important factor in improving student performance. One report, conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 2007, concluded that all outstanding school systems share one characteristic: high-quality teachers. According to the Ministry of Education studies, most of the new teachers entering the UAE system had, on average, just two weeks of training.

In Singapore, 80 per cent of teachers have teaching degrees; in Japan the figure is 97 per cent. Plans for licensing teachers were announced in 2008 by the Ministry of Education. They have not materialised. During the panel discussion, Dr Ian Haslam, vice chancellor and chief executive of the Emirates College of Advanced Education in Abu Dhabi, called for a national policy to govern all aspects of child welfare, including education.

"Creative collaboration across the ministries to form an integrated policy agenda would really help," he said. He added that it was "absolutely necessary" that the Education Ministry come up with a system for licensing teachers. There are so many teachers without initial training, he said, that the college could not take them all in at once. According to Dr Haslam, the quality of a public school system affects the quality of teachers that come out of it.

He said not enough newly trained teachers were entering the public school system to make a dent on the system as a whole. Abu Dhabi alone employs nearly 11,000 teachers in its public schools. "Those 11,000 teachers don't have an initial teaching certificate or a level of bilingualism that the new system demands," he said. Dr Haslam said the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) was addressing these problems. Since Adec took over hiring Abu Dhabi's teachers from the ministry last fall, they have required that new hires have a university degree and a qualification in education.

The council is also drafting a set of standards for teacher licensing. Dr Fatma al Marri, the chief executive of the Dubai Schools Agency, a department within the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said retaining teachers was another problem. "We try to attract teachers but after a few years we see these teachers are searching for other professions or they would prefer early retirement, and I think this is a big challenge," said Mrs al Marri.

klewis@thenational.ae

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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THE LOWDOWN

Photograph

Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

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Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3

Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2

PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST

Premier League

Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm 

Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm  

Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm 

Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm 

Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)

Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm 

Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm

Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm

Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm 

Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm

Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm 

Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm

Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm

 

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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MO
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Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes. 
Where to stay 
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.