ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East Business News
Wednesday, 03 December 2008 05:02 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

Print this page Print this page | Email this to a friend Email this to a friend | Discuss this article (0 Comments) |

Only 2% think Gulf schools are on par with world's best

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  on Monday, 08 September 2008
EDUCATION VIEWS: More needs to be done to raise school standards, say Arabian Business readers.

The education system in the Gulf region has a long way to go before its standards with other parts of the world, according to the results of an Arabian Business poll.

Just two percent of people who took part in our online survey believed the local system was as good as more established education industries such as the UK and US.

At the same time, Gulf-based parents believed urgent action needed to be taken to increase the number of school places available and control the soaring costs being charged by many private schools.

Story continues below
advertisement

Our poll ran following news that parents in the UAE were facing a major struggle to get their children into the school of their choice.

Children across the region are being turned away from schools because waiting lists are too long.

As many as 10 pupils in the UAE are competing for one place at nursery and private schools, forcing parents to look beyond their nearest schools.

And tuition fees for some grades at private schools in the UAE have rocketed by up to 50 percent amid the national shortage of spaces.

School administrators say the increases have been unavoidable, and are tied to the same inflationary spiral that has driven up the cost of everything, in particular housing and food.

The situation has left Arabian Business readers far from impressed with 23 percent saying urgent measures are needed to increase the number of school places available.

Their call came on the same day that Aldar Academies announced plans to build an extra 20 schools in Abu Dhabi with a capacity to cater for 20,000 pupils.

More than 60 percent of respondents were angry about the rises in tuition fees and believed education chiefs were more interested in making money than educating children.

Another 15 percent of respondents said while they thought the UAE education had improved, more still needed to be done to raise the standards.

Print Print | Email Email | Discuss this article |


READERS' COMMENTS



Click here to post a comment


Add your Comment
All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *
(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code * Code


Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.


MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

 EMAIL ALERTS

  1. Ministry of Education

  2. Ministry of Education

  3. Ministry of Education - Bahrain

  4. Ministry of Education - Jordan

  5. Ministry of Education - Kuwait

  6. Ministry of Education - Oman

  7. Ministry of Education - Qatar

  8. Ministry of Education - Saudi Arabia

  9. Education



EMIRATES ID DOWNLOAD

BUSINESS FEATURES

Japan's 'Ivy League' schools hit by financial rout

Japan's top universities are latest victims of global slowdown that shows no signs of easing.

From software to saving lives

John Wood left a high-flying career at Microsoft in order to fight poverty in the developing world. Now he is in Dubai.

School freeze

As private schools struggle to keep up with inflation, will caps on tuition fees put quality education on ice?

BUSINESS INTERVIEWS

Focal point

From its current enrolment of 270 students, Mirdif Private School plans to expand its capacity to 1200.

Setting the standard

Dr Badr Aboul-Ela on institutions looking to gain accreditation and those looking for loopholes.

On board

Repton School's headmaster, David Cook, says boarding schools could be a new sector for the region.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM