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SCHOOLS REPORT UAE: ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST NEWS FOR SCHOOLS, PARENTS AND STUDENTS IN EDUCATION THIS WEEK
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SCHOOLS REPORT UAE: ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST NEWS FOR SCHOOLS, PARENTS AND STUDENTS IN EDUCATION THIS WEEK

by Tabitha BardaFebruary 24, 2022

The Schools Report brings you the SchoolsCompared.com official Weekly Briefing on the Hottest News in Education.

Every Friday we bring you the latest stories in education in the UAE and around the world in the last 7 days. Here’s what’s been happening this week…

This Week in Education. UAE Education News. First. Every Friday. Only from SchoolsCompared.com.

Students from Dubai stranded in Ukraine as flights suspended

Children stranded in Ukraine as Third World War looms

Some students, who were to fly to Dubai, are stranded in Ukraine as Russian forces launched an attack against the East European country, reports Khaleej Times.

Ukraine is a popular higher education destination for students from the UAE, especially those pursuing medical studies.

One student, 21-year-old Nazeel Nazar, was to fly to Dubai to be with his family tonight. He had booked the ticket some days ago as tensions rose between Russia and Ukraine.

However, his flight was cancelled as Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian flights, citing a high risk to safety.

Kings_Interhigh_InArticle

Nazeel, an Indian expat who attended school in Dubai before moving to Kiev to pursue MBBS at the Bogomolets National Medical University, estimates that there are around 20 former UAE residents pursuing the same course at the university.

Nazeel’s father, Nazar, said the family was concerned about him being stranded and are “praying for his safety and that of others stranded there”.

Three UAE airlines – flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi – have suspended flights to Ukraine temporarily.

Read more.

New entry requirements for UK universities are ‘madness’

Students without the grades will be denied access to funding for Further education as critics point out the only losers will be the poorest students.

University leaders have described as “madness” new minimum entry requirements for undergraduates proposed by ministers as part of UK education reforms announced this week.

Education experts said the changes could hit the poorest students hardest and reduce the number going to university, damaging social mobility.

Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said of the proposal that minimum GCSE or A-level entry requirements be attached to student loan funding: “The government should expand opportunity, not constrain it.

“[It is] madness to shrink universities and place a cap on aspiration by reducing the number of places for people to study at university. Government should ensure that anyone with the potential to succeed at university has the opportunity to do so.”

Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, denied that the government was trying to restrict the number of students going to university, saying: “We need to get away from this obsession with targets and quotas. This isn’t about pushing people to or away from university, it’s about having a system that is designed to be geared up to the individual.”

She said some teenagers who failed their GCSEs felt “compelled to go to university before they are ready”.

About 5,000 school-leavers who started university in 2019 did not have passes in GCSE English and maths, or at least three Cs at A level.

Head teachers and academics said the package of measures could have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable.

Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at Exeter University, said: “We already label a third of pupils taking English and maths GCSEs as failures and this will condemn them further.

“What we need is a national school certificate in functional numeracy and literacy skills that all children are expected to pass.”

Read more.

Don’t fear those who are different, former Irish president says at Expo 2020 Dubai

Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, told a Dubai forum that school pupils must be taught not to fear people from different backgrounds if their education is to be fully realised.

She was speaking at the Qudwa-Pisa education forum at Expo 2020 Dubai on Saturday.

“Seeing the diversity that the world has offers us an opportunity to have phenomenal creative energies that can be used for problem solving,” said Ms McAleese, chancellor of Trinity College Dublin.

“The more time we waste on hatred, intolerance and bullying, the less likely we are to create the world our children deserve.”

She drew on her experience growing up in the north of Ireland as an example of how focusing on differences can hold people back.

“I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, part of the island of Ireland that remains in the United Kingdom,” Ms McAleese said.

“The political and religious differences between the Protestant majority and Catholic minority made strangers and enemies of people who lived close by one another but behind walls designed to keep them apart.

“Those walls are still there today and are unhappy evidence of how generation after generation of political leaders failed to invest in equality, justice and parity of esteem.”

She said for talent to be nurtured, cultural diversity must be embraced not repressed.

“The threat of violence must be seen as failure, not as a convenient tool of social, cultural and political control,” she said.

Appreciation of other cultures is a vital step in creating a better tomorrow, Ms McAleese said.

“We want our children to understand there are others in the classroom sitting beside them of different genders and ethnicities who they can engage with,” she said.

“We need to encourage the good in people to avoid stereotyping, bullying and hurting one another.”

The forum was organised by the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi in association with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The UAE is uniquely placed to offer perspective on diversity in education given the country’s multicultural make-up, an expert said.

“The UAE is at the centre of three continents and we have a great number of nationalities in our schools,” said Mohamed Al Nuaimi, head of the education and skills department for the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi.

“The diversity we have in schools allows us to be unique and extract different perspectives to share with others.”

Don’t fear those who are different, former Irish president says at Expo 2020 Dubai (thenationalnews.com)

CBSE schools in UAE to conduct first set of pre-board exams

Latest news on CBSE exams

CBSE-affiliated schools in the UAE have begun pre-board exams, with students having to tough it out answering subjective type questions for Term II against MCQs in Term I.

Term 2 board exams will be held on-site for Class 10 and Class 12 students from April 26, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had announced earlier.

Term 1 exams, which were conducted in the months of November-December, consisted of objective type questions (MCQs), while Term 2 will be based on subjective questions, with each set of exams covering 50 per cent of the curriculum.

Ambika Gulati, principal, The Millennium School – Dubai, said: “We are in the process of conducting pre-board examinations. We do see the scheduled date of April 26 as a significant challenge. We will need to support our board examination students as well as the commencement of the new academic session. However, our experiences from last year will hold us in good stead, as the strategies we employed then were very successful in supporting our school community.”

She added: “Students are anxious with respect to the subjective-type questions, as we see a change in the framing of examination questions. We are preparing question banks, support classes, one-on-one sessions and learning resources to support our students and ensure they feel confident. We are also exploring the possibility of conducting another practice examination prior to the board examination.”

Teachers are guiding students based on the sample question papers which CBSE has shared with all schools.

Dr Anjuli Murthy, principal/CEO, Our Own High School, Al Warqa’a, said: “We will be conducting pre-board exams in the last week of February. Subjective questions have always been a part of all school assessments, and we believe our students are prepared to answer these subjective-type questions.”

CBSE schools in UAE to conduct first set of pre-board exams – News | Khaleej Times

Two-thirds of students sexually harassed, study finds

Almost two-thirds of students have experienced sexual harassment at or on their way to school in the past three months, University of Glasgow research suggests.

Some 65 per cent of 13- to 17-year-olds who took part in a survey reported experiencing some form of visual or verbal sexual harassment, such as sexual jokes, while 34 per cent said they had experienced personally invasive behaviour such as sexual touching, and 68 per cent said they had experienced either type.

The study suggests a “gateway effect” in sexual harassment – personally invasive behaviours involving contact are almost always reported by those also reporting more visual and verbal harassment.

Some participants said they felt unsure about whether they had experienced certain behaviours and, in focus groups, students said they were unsure about the acceptability of some behaviours.

The study of 638 students in 2019 found a “strong association” between being a victim and a perpetrator of sexual harassment, with a fifth of those reporting that they had been a victim of personally invasive harassment – such as unwanted touching – saying they had also been a perpetrator of this (19.5 per cent).

Boys were more likely to be perpetrators than girls, and older students were more likely to be victims of or perpetrators of harassment than younger students. However, there were few gender differences in terms of how likely boys or girls were to be victims of harassment.

In focus groups, students seemed unsure whether behaviours such as making sexual comments, touching or grabbing someone or making sexual jokes were unacceptable or not.

Students were more likely to think that certain behaviours, such as making sexual jokes, were acceptable among friends, especially friends of the same gender.

Most secondary school students suffer sexual harassment, says study | Tes

GEMS schools join with Lenovo to create education hubs for gaming and E-sports

Lenovo and GEMS Education have agreed Heads of terms to pioneer major investments in gaming and esports across UAE schools, with a strong focus on BTEC game design, programming and esports.

GEMS Education has agreed Head of Terms with Lenovo, the world’s largest PC vendor, in a massive boost for investment in UAE education and study programmes in computer programming and new AED multi-billion industries in esports and game design.

This year (2022) esports alone will generate “somewhere in the ballparks of $2 Billion” according to Insider Intelligence, in a report that identifies that “[i]t’s essential to think of the esports opportunity in this way—one inclusive of gaming, media, pop culture, and commerce—as it shines a light on opportunities beyond gaming events alone.” Read the report here.

Lenovo is best known for completely buying out IBMs PC workstation and ThinkPad business in the 90s, as well as its rage of IdeaPad, Yoga and Legion solutions in education and broader business and industry. GEMS Modern and GEMS FirstPoint will be the first to see the building of new esports zones in their schools, supporting major partnerships with industry in the gaming sectors and the roll out of new qualifications for students.

The aim is to provide a springboard for students who want to pursue careers in the gaming industry – one of the key industries highlighted in a recent HMC Report that need significantly more investment by schools. Read more.

UAE school bus safety: Two major incidents in February have UAE parents asking how safe are school buses?

Two school bus incidents this February have sent shockwaves through community and left UAE parents asking how safe exactly are the school buses we all as parents depend on?

The first and most serious incident occurred on 15 February and led to the tragic death of an Ajman schoolgirl. The 12-year-old student got off the school bus at around 3.48pm near her home in the Hamidiya area and was then run over, sustaining fatal head injuries.

The second incident happened on 23 February in Sharjah, when a school bus burst into flames in the Al Khan area of the emirate.

The driver and bus attendants had already managed to evacuate all students from the bus before it ignited, so no-one was hurt in the incident, and an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the fire.

With two school bus incidents making headlines in the same month, UAE parents have been left wondering: is my child safe on a school bus?

Read more.

UAE parents invited to give feedback on Ministry of Education’s plan for unified school inspection framework

Latest news on school inspections

The education ministry has invited suggestions from parents and the public on the development of a unified evaluation and inspection system for UAE schools.

“The Ministry of Education (MoE) invites you to participate in the ‘Opinions of the public on the development of The New Unified UAE School Evaluation and Inspection Framework’ online survey,” the MoE tweeted.

The move is being undertaken to develop educational institutions in the country and improve its output in order to achieve the UAE’s ambitious agenda.

“We have worked in cooperation with all local educational authorities, including the Abu Dhabi Department of Education & Knowledge (ADEK), the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai, Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) and the Emirates Schools Establishments (ESE) in developing a framework for evaluating educational institutions,” said the MoE.

This framework provides a unified evaluation and inspection system in the UAE, in line with the Centennial Vision 2071 and meets the needs of public and private education institutions in the country.

According to authorities, the new system includes evaluation criteria keeping in mind the future needs. It also contributes to achieving national priorities and supports the government’s system in the UAE in accordance with international best practices.

The main objective of the survey, according to the MoE is to consider the views of the public and relevant stakeholders and measure their satisfaction with the New Unified UAE School Evaluation and Inspection Framework. The ministry will also analyse and use data for continuous improvement and development of the framework.

The ministry and the national educational authorities will consider all views and opinions regarding the improvement and development opportunities of the framework in order to meet everyone’s shared aspirations.

People can participate in the online survey.

Abu Dhabi launches free ‘We Speak Arabic’ online programme to bring modern Arabic to the masses

a chalkboard with the question do you speak Arabic?

A chalkboard with the question “Do you speak Arabic?” written in Arabic

An innovative new online Arabic programme called ‘We Speak Arabic’ has been rolled out in Abu Dhabi with the aim of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers in an engaging and relatable way. The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) – part of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi – has launched the free programme to help non-Arabic speakers worldwide learn the language more easily and efficiently online so that it is accessible to the broadest number of people and in a format that is simple and inspiring.

The programme targets learners of all ages and nationalities, and encourages mastering Arabic as a language of knowledge, culture and creativity.

Saeed H. Al Tunaiji, Acting Executive Director of ALC, said:

“Promoting the take up of the Arabic language locally and internationally is one of the Centre’s primary objectives through a wide range of projects and initiatives. Delivering our mandate through digital means is a major focus that provides easy accessibility to those looking to learn, and of course, cooperation and collaborative efforts between entities, institutions, and communities are essential to achieve our goals.”

Read more.

Women outperform men in Japanese medical school entrance exams, years after testing scandal

Latest news as Japanese girls outperform boys in exams to study Medicine

Japanese women have outperformed men in medical school entrance exams for the first time since universities admitted they had deliberately failed female applicants to inflate the number of male doctors.

According to new government data, 13.6% of female candidates passed exams at 81 medical schools last spring, compared with 13.51% of men.

It is the first time that women have fared better than their male counterparts since the education ministry started keeping records in 2013.

The latest results are a reversal of those over the previous eight years, when the pass rate among men exceeded that of women by up to 2.05 percentage points.

Japan’s academic world was shaken in 2018 by revelations that several medical schools had deliberately marked down female candidates, triggering accusations of institutional sexism and demands for greater transparency. Ten of the country’s most prestigious schools admitted that they had systematically discriminated against women to ensure a sufficient number of men were admitted.

The gender-based manipulation of results came to light after Tokyo Medical University was alleged to have offered a place to the son of a senior education ministry official in return for a favour.

The schools said they had deliberately failed female candidates due to concerns that women were more likely to quit their medical careers to start families amid a nationwide shortage of doctors

Women outperform men in Japanese medical school entrance exams, years after testing scandal | Japan | The Guardian

English Footballer calls for more diversity in British curriculum

Latest news as Troy Deeney calls to an end to abuse

The footballer Troy Deeney is launching an impassioned plea for more widespread teaching of black, Asian and minority ethnic experiences by schools in England, to help combat racism and give children “a balanced and inclusive understanding” of Britain.

In an open letter to the UK’s education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, Deeney said he had been frustrated by the lack of progress on tackling racism in the two years since the killing of George Floyd in the US, saying that “an eerie quiet” had ended public debate.

The Birmingham City striker said he was still receiving “vile racist abuse on social media and, at times, in public,” and with three children in the education system he felt an urgent need for schools to include black, Asian and minority ethnic experiences in their curriculum.

“I have seen more and more how important it is for my children to be able to see themselves represented in what they are being taught, and learn about the contribution and background of people who look like them,” Deeney said. “The importance of education at an early age to inform identity and combat racist beliefs and stereotypes cannot be understated.”

Deeney is launching an online petition. He has commissioned research by the polling company YouGov into teachers’ attitudes to rebut claims that the national curriculum in England already contains ample black and minority ethnic representation.

The survey of 1,000 secondary and primary school teachers, carried out this month, found that only 12% felt empowered to teach “optional” black-related topics such as colonialism, migration and identity ahead of competing optional topics, while 75% said they were not aware that resources to teach cultural diversity across the curriculum were available.

It found that 54% of teachers believed the school system or national curriculum has a racial bias, rising to 93% among minority ethnic teachers.

Troy Deeney calls for more diversity in English schools’ curriculum | Schools | The Guardian

Study: Children prefer Virgil to Shakespeare because it reminds them of video games

Children prefer Virgil to Shakespeare because tales from the Classics remind them of computer games, a Cambridge university study suggests.

The study’s author says pupils who study Virgil at school find it much more engaging than other “prestigious” literature such as the works of the Bard.

It proposes that schools could expand ancient literature’s use in the wider curriculum to explore its appeal beyond pupils who are studying Latin.

The results came from a study with three groups of 16-year-olds taking Latin GCSE at state schools.

Dr Frances Foster, from Cambridge’s faculty of education, conducted the study. “Research suggests younger readers can’t get enough of mythology,” she said. “The appeal seems to be the combination of monsters, weird fantasy stuff, and action — basically what you would find in a lot of computer games.”

Almost all pupils in the study claimed they enjoyed aspects of Virgil’s epic, Aeneid – especially the fast-paced action and mythological themes – even though they had mixed feelings about other poetry studied at school.

The research is reported in a newly published collection of essays, The Aeneid and the Modern World. Foster’s work explores how young people perceive the ancient world and its literature. She said: “If you’re a 15-year-old studying the Aeneid, what you’re actually studying is a tiny segment of one book. It’s rather like watching part of an episode in a television series without ever seeing the rest.

“If we can establish that other students enjoy it as much as this research group did, it might be worth exploring whether literature from the ancient world can be made more widely available, not least to the majority of children who never learn Latin.”

Virgil’s Aeneid grips teenage pupils with gods and monsters of mythology | News | The Times

Tabitha Barda’s The Schools Report © SchoolsCompared.com. 2022. All rights reserved.

About The Author
Tabitha Barda
Tabitha Barda is the Senior Editor of SchoolsCompared.com. Oxbridge educated and an award winning journalist in the UAE for more than a decade, Tabitha is one of the region's shining lights in all that is education in the emirates. A mum herself, she is passionate about helping parents - and finding the stories in education that deserve telling. She is responsible for the busy 24x7 News Desk, our Advisory Boards and Specialist Panels - and Parents United's WHICHPlaydates - a regular meeting place for UAE parents to discuss the issues that matter to them, make friends and network with others. You can often find Tabitha too on Parents United - our Facebook community board, discussing the latest schools and education issues with our parent community in the UAE - and beyond.

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