If recent enrolment data from two of the country’s three federal universities is any indication, Emirati men have very little to no interest in becoming schoolteachers.
Not one male student enrolled for Zayed University’s Bachelor of Science in Education programme last year, while just 11 signed up to study at the United Arab Emirates University’s College of Education.
Both universities are taking steps to increase the number of students — male and female — who register for their teaching programmes to help meet the country’s growing need for national educators.
“This is an international phenomenon, it is not limited to the UAE,” UAEU Vice Chancellor, Prof Mohamed Albaili, said of the challenges of recruiting male students for teaching degrees. “The government is aware of this issue, this challenge, and trying to accommodate and deal with this issue by providing male students opportunities and incentives to join education sector in general.”
UAEU has teamed up with the Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Education Council to train 120 non-Emirati students to become teachers beginning this month. The programme was open to expatriate high school graduates across the country who were born and raised in the UAE and maintained a minimum 95 per cent average. Prof Albaili said more than 500 applicants applied to enter the programme.
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“We feel that they are a part of the country — they know the culture, they know everything,” said Prof Albaili. “Since they were born here, they consider this country as their country. So we are trying to provide them with some job opportunities and quality education to pursue their education here and graduate and join the education sector in the future as teachers.”
Zayed University Vice President, Prof. Reyadh AlMehaideb, said convincing young Emirati men to accept a teacher’s salary is a hard sell.
“The main reason is the compensation is not competitive in the education field still,” said Prof AlMehaideb. “Unless that changes, we will always have hard time getting men to go into the education area. Some of them would like to go, but the percentage is very small.”
Zayed University currently offers a Bachelor of Science in Education, Master in Education and a Master of Science in Teaching and Learning.
The university is working on developing a new undergraduate programme called integrated science teacher to meet the nation’s demand for teachers and science professionals.
“The nation actually requires more science teachers in the schools,” said Prof AlMehaideb.
Both ZU and UAEU also have plans in the works to expand programming related to science, technology, engineering and maths (stem).
“Stem is the new direction for the country and now all of the higher education institutions are aligning their academic programmes to fit into that direction,” said UAEU’s Prof Albaili. “Even in the humanities and social sciences, we are introducing new topics related to the fourth industrial revolution, such as artificial intelligence, big data, data analytics, coding and other subjects that also fit in that stem model. So this is one of the strategic directions now of the university, to promote stem model.”
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Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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