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Discuss this article (31 Comments)One in three plan to send kids home for education
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Saturday, 23 May 2009
One in three responding to an online poll have revealed they are planning to send their children home from the Gulf to be educated because the schooling on offer here is so poor.
A total of 40 percent of those replying to an Arabian Business’poll said they wanted to send their children back to their home country to be educated because of the “dreadful” quality and high expense of schools in the region.
A further 53 percent of more than 400 responders felt the same about the standard and cost of schools, but added that they had no choice but to use the schools here.
Just three percent thought the quality of education was high and cheaper than their home country, while four percent said the two variables were on a par with home.
The findings are the latest in a series of damning indictments of the region’s education system.
Earlier this month a report of 189 schools in Dubai exposed a culture of physical and verbal abuse from teachers, alongside poor quality teaching, in a number of schools.
The report contained the findings of inspections carried out by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB), which is part of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), and represented the first ever wholesale review of the emirate's education system.
Overall 22 schools were rated “unsatisfactory”, 97 that are just “acceptable”, 66 “good” and four scored in the “outstanding” category, according to inspectors who visited the schools between October 2008 and April 2009.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
Dubinomics: I C U
Posted by zack, dubai, uae on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 18:33 UAE time
hey etisalgood (name?);
u have a point, i do know dubai probably just as much as anyone on this blog (been here since 1984). And i must point out the current economic situation will probably stand out as a case study for decades to come, maybe even a 100 years. there is just nothing of this magnitude, even looking back to pre WWII.
yes i agree to the peculiar forces. what im saying is, all else being equal, simply supply and demand WILL overrule, no matter how hard these external forces will try. The downward sloping demand curve (consumers will buy more when prices are lower) is magnified by the fact that there is just too much on the market, a glut.
Agreed, reducing rents are not in their interest. But there comes a time, when that business decision has to be made. As my mother always said, "half a loaf is better than no loaf" ;)
i'll conclude...your comments are intelligent, and 1997 is hopeful, agreed; but they will definitely be much further below 2008 levels!!
Posted by zack, dubai, uae on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 18:33 UAE time
hey etisalgood (name?);
u have a point, i do know dubai probably just as much as anyone on this blog (been here since 1984). And i must point out the current economic situation will probably stand out as a case study for decades to come, maybe even a 100 years. there is just nothing of this magnitude, even looking back to pre WWII.
yes i agree to the peculiar forces. what im saying is, all else being equal, simply supply and demand WILL overrule, no matter how hard these external forces will try. The downward sloping demand curve (consumers will buy more when prices are lower) is magnified by the fact that there is just too much on the market, a glut.
Agreed, reducing rents are not in their interest. But there comes a time, when that business decision has to be made. As my mother always said, "half a loaf is better than no loaf" ;)
i'll conclude...your comments are intelligent, and 1997 is hopeful, agreed; but they will definitely be much further below 2008 levels!!
Dubinomics
Posted by Etisalgood, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 10:25 UAE time
Zack, a primer about Dubai - it's not really a free market economy and to think that prices will ever return to 1997 levels is just wishful thinking! To people hoping the government is going to step in and regulate the spiralling cost of living, think again. Officials at the highest levels RERA, KHDA, and other agencies are all landlords themselves and to reduce rents is not in their best interest. In Dubai, ownership is concentrated into the hands of few, and consumers are always going to get the short end of the stick.
Posted by Etisalgood, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 10:25 UAE time
Zack, a primer about Dubai - it's not really a free market economy and to think that prices will ever return to 1997 levels is just wishful thinking! To people hoping the government is going to step in and regulate the spiralling cost of living, think again. Officials at the highest levels RERA, KHDA, and other agencies are all landlords themselves and to reduce rents is not in their best interest. In Dubai, ownership is concentrated into the hands of few, and consumers are always going to get the short end of the stick.
For severyone talking about school prices: Think Economics
Posted by zack, dubai, uae on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 08:17 UAE time
People, not to worry...
I can tell you as an economist, there are many explanations, yet there is the most simple one.
The Global credit bubble we had affected asset prices, things like real estate. There was too much leverage going on, well now its time to de-leverage, as we all know it. What happens you say? Look at Dubai real estate... need i say more?
Anyway, during the ungodly real estate boom, the greed surrounding some people, caused real estate prices to shoot up in some cases 10-fold.
So take a simple example of a small one man tailor shop. His shop rent double or tripled, maybe more (oh and his home too). This asset inflation made him change his rates: the 10 dh job, he has to charge you 25 dh, just to make ends meet. By the way, his suppliers are in the same boat, making it a its a viscous cycle.
Well now, I can tell you rents will be going back to 1997 levels (in some cases they already have), and don’t believe this recovery crap you read. This recovery nonsense maybe for GCC, but Dubai? There as an unprecedented oversupply of housing, and oh, more housing coming on the market to house a few more million people! we all know where thats going.
See, rest assured, the market will price itself. The tailor will go back to paying his old rent, and in some cases, he might pay less than what he used to due to the oversupply of real estate. This also goes for his supplier. Now he’s not going to change his 25 Dh rate overnight, he likes it, but in time, he wont get any new customers, why? Coz next door, his competition is charging 10 Dh again. And what do you know…new tailors are coming on to the market and giving specials for 7 DH. So what does he do just to make ends meet? Go back to 10 DH and maybe even 8 or 9 just to keep up with competition.
In time, the market (schools) will re-price the rate, and natural laws of economics says they have to adjust in order to survive.
One factor we forgot though: their greed and stupidity may just kill them off! :)
Posted by zack, dubai, uae on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 08:17 UAE time
People, not to worry...
I can tell you as an economist, there are many explanations, yet there is the most simple one.
The Global credit bubble we had affected asset prices, things like real estate. There was too much leverage going on, well now its time to de-leverage, as we all know it. What happens you say? Look at Dubai real estate... need i say more?
Anyway, during the ungodly real estate boom, the greed surrounding some people, caused real estate prices to shoot up in some cases 10-fold.
So take a simple example of a small one man tailor shop. His shop rent double or tripled, maybe more (oh and his home too). This asset inflation made him change his rates: the 10 dh job, he has to charge you 25 dh, just to make ends meet. By the way, his suppliers are in the same boat, making it a its a viscous cycle.
Well now, I can tell you rents will be going back to 1997 levels (in some cases they already have), and don’t believe this recovery crap you read. This recovery nonsense maybe for GCC, but Dubai? There as an unprecedented oversupply of housing, and oh, more housing coming on the market to house a few more million people! we all know where thats going.
See, rest assured, the market will price itself. The tailor will go back to paying his old rent, and in some cases, he might pay less than what he used to due to the oversupply of real estate. This also goes for his supplier. Now he’s not going to change his 25 Dh rate overnight, he likes it, but in time, he wont get any new customers, why? Coz next door, his competition is charging 10 Dh again. And what do you know…new tailors are coming on to the market and giving specials for 7 DH. So what does he do just to make ends meet? Go back to 10 DH and maybe even 8 or 9 just to keep up with competition.
In time, the market (schools) will re-price the rate, and natural laws of economics says they have to adjust in order to survive.
One factor we forgot though: their greed and stupidity may just kill them off! :)
Dear Mr. Kashif
Posted by Dan, Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday 26 May 2009 at 22:16 UAE time
Why is it so hard for some to understand that if I can afford a nice car or cloths, it does NOT mean that every business can rob me. Is it sooooo hard to understand Mr. Kashif. I want to pay a fair price for everything I buy, just like you. But here they look at you and wonder how much you can afford to pay, how much they can suck out of you. That Sir is not business. It’s robbery.
People whined also when house prices and rents went crazy. But some people like you were saying “if you can’t afford it, leave”. Now we know what happened with real state. The same goes with education. It’s going to price itself out.
Posted by Dan, Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday 26 May 2009 at 22:16 UAE time
Why is it so hard for some to understand that if I can afford a nice car or cloths, it does NOT mean that every business can rob me. Is it sooooo hard to understand Mr. Kashif. I want to pay a fair price for everything I buy, just like you. But here they look at you and wonder how much you can afford to pay, how much they can suck out of you. That Sir is not business. It’s robbery.
People whined also when house prices and rents went crazy. But some people like you were saying “if you can’t afford it, leave”. Now we know what happened with real state. The same goes with education. It’s going to price itself out.
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